The Great Big Green: A Book Review

The Great Big Green by Peggy Grifford is a fun book focusing on everything green! While the text is a just slightly awkward at times, all the green things points to one BIG green thing--the earth! The illustrations are great. Each element was scanned from paintings, papers, fabric, photos, etc. and then layered on top of each other to create the pictured. The illustrator mentioned, "For instance, I scanned orange sandpaper, black velvet, and white fur for the tiger. A tiger's-eye stone was used for her eyes." They are amazing! 

The text is very conversational, with emphasis on certain words that would be emphasized while reading, like "green is green." We meet reptiles, amphibians, gardens, an old green door, under-the-sea greens, tornado sky greens (which my three-year-old didn't like), good for you greens (loved the fiddle head ferns--we talked about which greens we wanted to eat), green toes, green insects, GO green, etc. It all combines for an interesting collage that makes up the EARTH! It really is pretty as "one green ball and hung like an ornament in the sky." Then it shows the beautiful blue parts as well, with the collages making up the continents.

As I mentioned, it is a fun and engaging book. While it doesn't necessarily teach concepts beyond a love and appreciation for the earth, the illustrations are captivating and fun. For extension activities, check out: 

Classroom Bookshelf--Google Earth, poetry, related books, etc. 

Teaching Books--Questions to use, activities, related books, etc. 

Personally, I am very grateful for the GREAT BIG GREEN! Love this planet Earth! It might be good for Earth Day.