Blog One Book: Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni
ISBN: 978-0-688-13283-5
Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni is a wonderfully clever children’s book that I read and enjoyed when I was younger. The characters in the book are simple, cunning and can be used as a great tool especially if the children are learning about birds, related animals or habitats.
Inch by Inch tells the tale of a little Inchworm who meets a Robin one morning. The Robin tells the Inchworm that he is going to eat him, but the Inchworm comes up with a bright idea and tells the Robin that he’ll measure his tail if he doesn’t eat him. The Robin allows him to do so and is very enthused to learn that his tail is five inches long. He forgets about eating the Inchworm and decides to take him (Inchworm) to meet his (Robin) friends and let them all be measured. The Inchworm measures a flamingo’s neck, a toucan’s beak, and a heron’s legs. The story continues this way until the Inchworm meets a Nightingale. Like the Robin, the Nightingale demands the Inchworm to measure him but he wants his song to be measured. Despite Inchworms protests that he is unable to measure the song the Nightingale threatens to eat him. So the Inchworm does as told and starts to measure the song, he keeps measuring and measuring until he ‘inches out of sight’.
This book is great to read to a class and an interesting way to include the class and get their reaction and responses. Also some of the birds are recognizable like a flamingo, asking questions at the end such as, ‘what birds were mentioned in the story?’ is a great way to enforce reading comprehension and learn new vocabulary words. Another technique would be to do different kinds of voices for each of the birds that talk and even give the Inchworm a bit of an accent.
The character I enjoyed the most was the protagonist, the Inchworm. Lionni created a simple yet complex character in him. It’s funny to see how the Inchworm gets out of a scary situation using quick thinking. I also found it ironic that a little Inchworm measures many birds and manages not to get eaten and outsmarted all of them.
Another aspect I loved was the artistic look of the book. The characters and environment were kept simple and almost looked as if a child drew them or the author was inspired by a child’s artwork. It made the book that much more intimate and not so polished or professionally drawn. You see that animal mentioned has a different pattern for their feathers. I loved how certain pages the grass was drawn to look like very high with a tiny Inchworm crawling on the dirt. It reminded me of ‘Where’s Waldo’ for a moment because the Inchworm blended in so well with the grass. It gives the reader and listener a sense of scale and how truly tiny this Inchworm really is.
This is a great book and I would use it in my classroom. There are many features you highlight and focus on to effectively teach and stimulate your children into learning something new.
It sounds like a cute book Stacey! I am glad that the award Caldecott medals and honors to not just one genre, but to an array of different books! I love animals and I am glad you suggested this book to be used in the classroom. Instead of just teaching kids through science books about nature and all its amazing creatures, I think books like these are also another great tool to use to stimulate their interest in science as well as improve their reading and language skills. I love how this book proves that even though someone may not seem witty or is smaller than others, its always the smart thinkers that finish first; even if that inchworm was so under pressure! It shows you to never judge a book by it's cover! You never know, it can be full of surprises! I can just tell by the cover of the book that the visuals are strong. The leaves on the cover and the colors used make them look so real! I will most certainly look into this book!
ReplyDelete