Poor Pluto! by California Third Grade Class Tokay Colon

by California Third Grade Class Tokay Colon

Excellent Book

Genres: Science, Childrens

31 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Karen]

This book is really fun to read during the 4th grade space unit. The kids know that Pluto's not a planet anymore but not why. They enjoy reading a book written by other kids and I've had many students write their own books about science topics because they were inspired by this 3rd grade class.

[Madison Manson]

This book is about a group of kids who find out Pluto isn't a planet anymore and feel very sad for him. They decide they want to blast off into space and bring Pluto back to school so he won't feel left out. The students do all kinds of fun things with Pluto until one day Pluto looks sad and the kids realize that Pluto misses being in outer space. the children decide that even though Pluto isn't a planet anymore, he still is very important to our solar system and launch him back into orbit. In the back of the book is actual pictures of the third grade class that wrote this book.

[Sarah Clayton]

Poor Pluto! was written and illustrated by third grade students, and will be a great way to show my students that they can be authors and illustrators. In this book, students feel bad for Pluto since he's no longer a planet and decide to bring him to earth to help him "belong". Although, they are filled with the best intentions, the students soon find out Pluto actually "belongs" in the Solar System. I'm excited to share this book with my students this year as it represents their abilities to be authors and illustrators.

[Corinda Edevold]

This book is adorable! My kids love that the story and pictures were done by a classroom and it always creates questions about Pluto and planets

[Katrina]

so cute

[Amie Floersheim]

• Summarize the book
This book was actually written and illustrated by 3rd graders and was compiled by their teacher to help explain the reason Pluto is no longer a planet. The authors first feel bad for Pluto but then explain that Pluto does have a purpose after all and they don’t really need to feel bad for it. The pictures are drawn by children and even though you can tell they are done by children, they are still beautiful and show the concept of the solar system through the eyes of a third grader. The students tell us that they would fly a spaceship up to rescue him and then make it a planet again.
• Identify the characteristics from the text that support the specific genre (What makes it traditional literature? What makes it historical fiction?)
I thought this could be considered a science fiction text because even though the story is about how the children feel bad for Pluto, they make up a story about how they are going to rescue Pluto by flying a spaceship into space. it provides facts and details about how Pluto used to be a planet and now is not considered one but it mixes in some things that could not be true such as flying into space and sling-shotting by the planets.
• Identify specific literary or educational concepts that could be integrated into the classroom. (eg. This book is a good text to use when teaching how to make inferences, or This books deals with bullying and would be useful when beginning a discussion about bullying in the classroom.)
There are many different activities that a teacher could do with this book. It would be a great introduction to learning about planets and the solar system. It would also be a great example of a model that could be used if you were to make your own classroom book about an event or facts. It would be a great way to help students understand how to tell the difference between informational text and science fictions because this book contains facts as well as fantasy.
• Provide any other suggestions that would be useful regarding literary content, reading level, and other ways in which the book might be integrated.
This would be such a fun book to read if you were teaching third grade because it could be something that the students could connect with and see that they too could become published writers if they wanted. It was a really sweet book that was inspiring to me as a teacher. I would love to help students be inspired by it as well.

[Lauren Owens]

This book was created by a group of 3rd graders. It is their interpretation of what happened after Pluto was no long considered a planet. The book is based on facts about the solar system. I would use this book just as a fun read for the students to pick apart the real from the made up portions of the book. This would demonstrate their understandings of the solar system. Also, it emphasizes the name of the planets which is beneficial for all students.
Recommended grade level: 3-5

[Christine]

I had to buy this picture book when I found it at our school book fair. The start of Lizzy's passion for all things space coincided approximately with Pluto being demoted from being a planet. Our family was saddened by the loss. So we loved this book. Written and illustrated by a third-grade class, it's a charming exploration of why we shouldn't feel too bad for Pluto after all.

[Pam Scholz]

Another of Carter's favorites right now. Not sure the attraction. A cute story written by a 3rd grade class in CA. They felt bad for Pluto when it was busted down to dwarf planet status and wrote this story.

[Rachael]

Cute book because it was written by a third grade class. The story could be appealing or a flop. Great to show students that they can write their own book!

[Sandra]

This book was written and illustrated by a class of third graders who were trying to come to terms with Pluto no longer being considered a planet.A truly wonderful book.

[Michele Sum]

Great with Kindergarten when learning about the Solar System.

[Nancy Vu]

"Poor Pluto" is a very cute book students wrote about pluto not being a planet. This is a fun book for first and second grades while learning about space and planets.

[Wendy Jones]

This book is so cute. It is written and illustrated by a third grade class about how Pluto is no longer a planet. It is so cute and entertaining. I read this in a second grade classroom.

[Kelly]

read every year to start the planet unit!

[Heather]

This book is probably the cutest book about space I've ever seen!