Louella Mae, She's Run Away!

I used this book with finger puppets, chopsticks,and paper plates to present my Music Education final research project at University of Pacific. Here is our Lesson Plan: Lesson Plan MEDU 100 Children's book, unpitched instruments and puppets Grade: Primary Objectives: Spend 20 minutes, 3 times a week, over a semester, using a children's book, unpitched instruments and puppets. This will foster: focusing, anticipation, listening, reading, and sequence. Students will make connections between activity and language arts and social studies. They will collaborate, creating an interdependent community based lesson. State Standards: Curriculums of music education, language arts and social studies. Standards met are: Standard One; 1-2 through 1-5. Standard Two; 2-1 though 2-6. Standard Four; 4-3 through 4-5. Set Up: Gather materials - children's book, chopsticks, paper plates and puppets. Students will stay at their desks. Divide the class into three groups: chopsticks, puppets and paper plates. Opener: Read book to class, and review steady beat, ostinato, rythmn and improvisation. Apply: Chopstick group will play steady beat and use "think and do". Puppets group will tap feet, chant ostinato and make appropriate animal noise when their puppet appears in the book. Paper plate group will chant repeating pattern and make swishing noises. Practice: Each group will practice separately, then will evolve into a collaborative effort, beginning with chopstick group - steady beat. The book will start the process, then each group will follow and continue to play until the end of the book. Materials will be handed to the left and done over, until every student has played each part. Closure: Evaluate how the children interact with each other, each group and as a class. (Praise the students) Ask the children how they felt about the activity and what they would do differently. If old enough, have them write their reflections down on paper to turn in. We received an "A" and I gave our teacher the book I ordered to use in her present classes at a K-6 grade school, as I will not be ready to teach for a few years. I HIGHLY reccommend this book. : )

I am a grandmother of sixteen grandchildren,eight boys and eight girls ranging in age from newborn to ten years. I just completed a two month journey through twenty two states reading Louella May She Run Away to my grandchildren, their parents and to their young friends. From the East Coast, through the South, the Mid-West and across North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and home to California, this story was a huge success. I watched young and old alike fall into the rythum of this tale and cry out the rhyming words as the pages turned, hoping they had said the right word. They found the illustrations to be eye catching and in harmony with the search for Louella May. The story brought laughter and also a happy surprise at the ending. The story has it's own spacial place in our family and will join other favorites, such as Dr.Seuss books, The Bernstien Bears, Beatrix Potter's books or Charlotes Web and the Wizard of Oz.

I have read this book aloud numerous times at toddler and preschool storytimes and it has been a hit each time. The text lends itself well to a loud southern accent and expansive gestures plus there is a delightful "surprise" ending for the kids. It doesn't disappoint!

Well, another discovered hit for my 5 year old daughter and me. She enjoyed finishing the clever rhyming as the characters looked for Louella Mae and much to our glee, the ending was not what we expected...Yahoo!

Louella Mae is a lyrical adventure for young and old alike. A fun read