Hi, Koo! : A Year of Seasons

Title: Hi, Koo!: A Year of Seasons 

Author: Jon J. Muth

# of Pages: 32

Published by: Schoolastic Press; First Ed 1st Printing Edition
Age Range: 4-8 years old 

Grade Level: Preschool-3rd 

This book is a fun and unique way to teach haiku poems to young children. Throughout the book readers go with cute panda bear Koo on a journey throughout the four seasons. This book can be also used to teach about the different seasons. Students could then write their own haiku poem about each season. This book contains beautiful images from start to finish and is a wonderful read. The haikus are fun, funny, and very readable for children of all ages. 

Critique: 

This book is a great way to teach about poetry and the seasons. The pictures are beautiful and it is a quick read. All of the pages are written in only three lines, and use poetry; however, not every page is written in proper haiku format. Some do not have the 5-7-5 syllable layout. It would be hard to write a story in only haiku, therefore I think the author only incorporated haikus every couple pages, so the book could also have a story line. I would use this book in my future classroom. Kids would like the pictures, and the short haiku lines. I could see myself using this book to teach about poetry, specifically haiku and then having my students write their own poems.

Classroom Activities include:

• Lesson on Haiku 
• Haiku Poem interactive poem maker  can be used in class, as homework, or in computer lab
• Have students write and illustrate their own haiku about their favorite season
• Also could read the book guyku--which is a book about a year of haiku for boys
• Handout on how to write a good haiku
• How to write a good haiku 

Here is a book trailer: