Stellaluna

Stellaluna
Written and illustrated by: Janell Cannon
Grades:  2-4
Published by: Harcourt Brace and Company 1993
Genre:  Picture Book, Adventure

Synopsis:  This is a story about a bat named Stellaluna who was accidentally dropped by her mother.  She falls helplessly into a nest of birds whom they accept as long as she acts like a bird to not confuse the others.  Stellaluna tries to fit in but she wants to fly at night or hang upside down to sleep.  She only feels like the other birds when she is flying.  One day, she is discovered by another bat sleeping head up like she was taught by the birds.  Other bats are notified and Stellaluna is soon reunited with her mother.    she becomes friends withIn the end, Stelaluna reunited with her mother and remained friends with the birds who were different from her in many ways. 

Theme/Skill: Adventure, Nocturnal Animals, Individuality, Parents, Siblings, Friendship, Science

About the Author:   Janell Cannon

Janell was born in 1957 in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Janell has a love for animals including bats, spiders, dragons, and snakes.  She was a graphic artist for the Carlsbad Library where she designed and produced the summer reading programs.  She then became an author and illustrator.  She has written many books including Stellaluna, Verdi, Pinduli, Crickwing, and The Stories Julian Tells.  She currently lives in Southern California. 

Source used:  http://lookingglassreview.com/html/janell_cannon.html

Pre-Reading Activities:  Bring in a bird’s nest for the kids to observe and look at.  Ask questions such as:  What do birds eat?  Where do they live? Use gummy worms to show what birds eat and how this is different from what we eat.  Then turn off the lights and see if the children can see in the dark.  Then turn on the lights and ask questions such as:  Have you ever seen a bat before?  What do bats eat?  When do bats sleep?  How and where do they sleep?   

Post-Reading Activities:  Use a Venn Diagram chart on the overhead to have the children compare a bird’s life to the life of a bat.  This will be used as a concept map to compare and contrast.  They will first compare based on what they know from the book and then will spend time in the computer room and library to find differences and similarities to bring back to the class.  The Venn Diagram will be completed when the bring their papers back to class.  They will hand in a sheet of notes with their partner for the teacher to look at. 

More lesson ideas: http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/lausd/offices/itd/cti/elementary/e_pc/pdf/word2/word2_lp.pdf


Reflection: I love the use of full page illustrations made from color pencils and acrylic. The depictions of the animals give them cahracter and make them look realistic. I think that the two pages included with facts about bats makes readers more intrigued to learn about this book and bats. I think that including this allows teachers to use this book in a variety of ways in the classroom. Teachers can talk from a science perspective and look at bats and birds like I did or take it from a different theme and look at friendship and family. I think that this story makes it easy for teachers to introduce different nocturnal animals and look at vocabulary words and lead into science experiments or factual information. It is really an engaging book.