The Popcorn Book

Tomie dePaola seldom fails to delight and this offering is no exception. Kids get together to pop up some pop corn and the little story of their "adventure" is quite funny. along with the story though, we get a great mini-lesson in the history of popcorn along with some wonderful scientific facts, i.e. why does popcorn pop, how do you store popcorn, etc. It tells us how the early Native Americans cooked and used popcorn as well as those in Centeral America. There are dozens of lessons that can be created from this little book, great handouts and projects can be made with just a touch of creativity on the teachers part. I use this one in the class room, but it would be great for the home school folks also. The only slight qualm I had over the book was that it depicted young children cooking up a batch of popcorn on the stove (no microwave stuff here) and do feel that children, pans, stoves and hot oil are not such a good mix. I always warn the kids not to do thier popcorn cooking without letting an adult know that they are up to first. Overall though, this is a great book and I do highly recommend it. It certainly falls into the five star category (I must admit that I learned a few facts about popcorn I did not know, myself).

I am student teaching and used this book in the classroom for a lesson pertaining to the overall theme of Thanksgiving and the Indians. The children were on the edge of their seats through the entire story. I used an activity after the book where students had a piece of paper with a grid on it. In each box, there was a number (1-10) that students had to trace. Then, they glued the popcorn kernels in the grid with the corresponding number. There are so many ideas and activities that can accompany this story! I encourage all teachers to use it...no matter what age level! (I used this in 2nd grade).

I really liked the book. The author was very creative with his illistrations. The reason I chose this book was because my favorite food is popcorn! Tomie de Paola must of had to do alot of research for this book. I would recommend The Popcorn Book to any lower-grade teacher.

The popcorn book is a great book. It makes you laugh and makes you hungry for popcorn!! I reccomand this for children of all ages. ( and for children who like popcorn!)

I read this book to my 8-year-old son yesterday. What a treat! Popcorn is his favorite snack food. Scientific & historical facts are presented in a very hip way by a fantastic writer/illustrator. Even though it contains a lot of information it moves at a very fast past. A must read book!!