FICTION FRIDAY: "One" by Kathryn Otoshi

I stopped by one of my favorite places in the world yesterday on my way home from class, Lakeshore Learning,  (http://www.lakeshorelearning.com) and saw this book entitled, "One" by Kathryn Otoshi.  The super simple watercolor pictures caught my eye as did the gold label.  I was curious, so I picked it up and read it.  In the book,  "Red is HOT and Blue is NOT." In a unique fashion, it deals with the way all of us can feel, especially as children, when we are treated unkindly and when our "friends" don't stick up for us when we are picked on, shoved around or teased by some angry person.  It also rehearses the way we can feel when someone does stick up for us as well.  In other words, it deals with bullying.  I love this very simple, straight forward book that I believe small and old can relate to and would suggest it to anyone who deals with groups of children.  School Library Journal says: The text is very simple but meaningful, and the moral is subtly told. 
I'd read this book to kids even up to 6th grade, because it teaches us life lessons.  Everyone enjoys a picture book now and then.  I REALLY enjoyed this one as it leaves the readers with ways to create solutions about bullying.

Reading level: Ages 4 and up Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: KO Kids Books (October 1, 2008)

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Other books by Kathryn Otoshi:

PreSchool-K—This is a deceptively simple color and counting book that turns into a lesson on bullying. Whenever they meet, Blue is picked on by Red: "Red is HOT. Blue is NOT." The other colors like Blue but are intimidated by the bluster so they say nothing, and soon Red is bossing everyone around. But then One comes. It is funny and brave and confronts Red: "If someone is mean and picks on me, I, for One, stand up and say, No." All the other colors follow One's lead and become numbers too. Yellow is two, Green, three, etc. Red begins to feel left out and tries to bully Blue, but Blue ignores him and changes to Six: "Red can be really HOT,' he says, but Blue can be super COOL.'" The rest of the numbers stick up for Blue, but offer Red the opportunity to join in the counting, and all ends well. The book is well designed with bright colored circles and numbers on stark white pages accompanied by black print.  Red is not ostracized but included in the game, and the essential point of one person making a difference is emphasized by the ending: "Sometimes it just takes One." This is an offering with great potential for use with the very young in a variety of ways.—Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA

One Pop Art lesson on Bullying

Read & discuss bullying & how they resolved the problem in the story One by Kathryn Otoshi. Show Jasper John’s painting, Numbers in Color. Discuss how the numbers work together in the painting & in the book? Give students a stenciled numbered paper. Color number with watercolor pencils. Paint them. Paint the background a using the primary colors and the secondary they make. My 3 Kindergarten classes do these using different background secondary blends. Display them collaged in Johns' style.

Pre-K/Kindergarten

Arts & Music, Reading & Literacy, Student Engagement & Development

The students will be able to define and give characteristics of bullying and describe methods to prevent bullying behavior. One is a story about bullying that uses splotches of color and numbers to speak of the power of one person to initiate change. They will create a painted collaborative collage using Johns' style of stenciled numbers. They will mix primaries to make secondary colors and recognize Jasper Johns' Pop Art images. They will be introduced to the Pop Art style.

6x9 papers with stenciled numbers on them. Watercolor pencils Water buckets Brushes Paint Paint containers Newspaper One by Kathryn Otoshi Prints by Jasper Johns Numbers in Color by Jasper Johns

This lesson covers New Jersey Core Curriculum standards: Language Arts Literacy 3.4 Listening Social Studies 6.2 Civics Visual & Performing Arts 1.1 Aesthetics Visual & Performing Arts 1.2 Creation &performance Visual & Performing Arts 1.5 History/Culture