Scan barcode
A review by gymnerdreader
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
4.0
Annotated Bibliography Entry: Not a Box by: Antoinette Portis
Summary:
A very simplistic book for beginning readers, which details the imagination of the child mind. A rabbit is sitting in a box, which the narrator questions throughout the book curious about why the rabbit is playing with an empty box. To the narrator, idea of playing with a box is questionable, however to the rabbit the box isn't really a box. It is his "not a box", which has the potential to be anything the rabbit desires including a boat, a robot or even a spaceship.
Personal Response:
I think this book would be good for beginning readers because it is a book that is simplistic enough that they could read on their own with little assistance. I also like the theme this book explores: promoting imagination. A child's imagination can be a great benefit in the classroom so I am glad this book focused on that. I like that it stressed that something so simple (such as a box) can be something amazing if we just use a little bit of creativity. This book encourages children to explore their sense of creativity, which I love and think is very important in schools.
Descriptions of Illustrations:
This book is very simplistic and the illustrations went perfectly well given the simplicity of the book in general, however I do like the aspect of spatial awareness present in the illustrations. Even when the box is a spacecraft or a robot, the reader can always see the what the drawing was originally (which is the box). The box changes and becomes other things, which is made clear by the use of red marker. The red marker is used to draw other things with the box serving as an outline. It shows the ability to use the box and creating something even more creative. Given the nature of the story, the illustrations went along perfectly and it serves as a visual to just how creative a box can be.
Classroom Connections:
While a lot of the books we read for this class make excellent read alouds. I feel this book would be a great book for young children to read on their own and there is a great deal that can be done with this book in the classroom. I think this could be used to teach students about shapes since the box itself is rectangular and the additional drawings are so spatially accurate. Students could add their own things to the box using a variety of shapes to create the objects they want. They could then go through and label the shapes they used and discuss what they notice about all the shapes. This book could also be used as a way for students to express their own creativity. Each student could be given a box and they can be encouraged to use their imagination and create anything they want with the box making sure to use the box as a base. Just like the rabbit did in this story! I think it would be interesting to see the things that students could create and come up with just using their imagination alone!
Summary:
A very simplistic book for beginning readers, which details the imagination of the child mind. A rabbit is sitting in a box, which the narrator questions throughout the book curious about why the rabbit is playing with an empty box. To the narrator, idea of playing with a box is questionable, however to the rabbit the box isn't really a box. It is his "not a box", which has the potential to be anything the rabbit desires including a boat, a robot or even a spaceship.
Personal Response:
I think this book would be good for beginning readers because it is a book that is simplistic enough that they could read on their own with little assistance. I also like the theme this book explores: promoting imagination. A child's imagination can be a great benefit in the classroom so I am glad this book focused on that. I like that it stressed that something so simple (such as a box) can be something amazing if we just use a little bit of creativity. This book encourages children to explore their sense of creativity, which I love and think is very important in schools.
Descriptions of Illustrations:
This book is very simplistic and the illustrations went perfectly well given the simplicity of the book in general, however I do like the aspect of spatial awareness present in the illustrations. Even when the box is a spacecraft or a robot, the reader can always see the what the drawing was originally (which is the box). The box changes and becomes other things, which is made clear by the use of red marker. The red marker is used to draw other things with the box serving as an outline. It shows the ability to use the box and creating something even more creative. Given the nature of the story, the illustrations went along perfectly and it serves as a visual to just how creative a box can be.
Classroom Connections:
While a lot of the books we read for this class make excellent read alouds. I feel this book would be a great book for young children to read on their own and there is a great deal that can be done with this book in the classroom. I think this could be used to teach students about shapes since the box itself is rectangular and the additional drawings are so spatially accurate. Students could add their own things to the box using a variety of shapes to create the objects they want. They could then go through and label the shapes they used and discuss what they notice about all the shapes. This book could also be used as a way for students to express their own creativity. Each student could be given a box and they can be encouraged to use their imagination and create anything they want with the box making sure to use the box as a base. Just like the rabbit did in this story! I think it would be interesting to see the things that students could create and come up with just using their imagination alone!