StoryWalks® for Pennsylvania Libraries

StoryWalk® Prompts for The Belonging Tree by Maryann Cocca-Leffler, Illustrated by Kristine A. Lombardi

 

Intro Sign (displaying book cover and the following information)

StoryWalk®

Have fun enjoying nature and talking with your child as you read this story together! There are discussion prompts and activity ideas on each post. Feel free to do one, a few, or all as you proceed through the StoryWalk®. Talking about stories together is a wonderful way to help your child become a reader!

The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Storywalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.

This project is funded through the Family Engagement Grant, a federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries.

 

Sign 1

Display book cover again

Welcome to this StoryWalk® of The Belonging Tree by Maryann Cocca-Leffler,

Illustrated by Kristine A. Lombardi!

Prompt: Look at this little family of squirrels on the cover. How does it look like they feel about their home in the tree? What do you think will happen when many different animals try to live in the same neighborhood? Do you think they can all get along and be friends? Travel on this StoryWalk® adventure to find out!

 

Sign 2

Pages 1-2

Text: Life was fine and dandy in the big oak tree on Forest Lane. Squirrels lived UP, squirrels lived DOWN,

Prompt: How many squirrels do you see in and around the big oak tree? Scamper over to the next sign to find out more about the squirrels that live on Forest Lane!

 

Sign 3

Pages 3-4

Text: and in the MIDDLE lived the Gray squirrel family – Pa, Ma, and little Zeke. Everyone played together, worked together, and ate together. The neighborhood was just the way it should be.

Prompt: Do you think Forest Lane sounds like a nice neighborhood? Why or why not?

 

Sign 4

Pages 5-6

Text: Until…SUMMER arrived, and so did a family of birds. “There goes the neighborhood,” said Pa. “Those blue jays are bossy and noisy!”

“And their shrieking songs are driving me crazy!” said Ma.

“But I like their singing,” said Zeke.

Prompt: How can you tell that Ma and Pa are upset about the blue jays? How can you tell that Zeke is not?

            

Sign 5

Pages 7-8

Text:  Ma and Pa stuffed the walls with moss and oak leaves to block out the noise.

“Blue jays don’t belong here!”

Prompt: Look! Pa is hanging a big Do Not Disturb sign on the tree. Disturb is another word for bother so Ma and Pa don’t want the birds to disturb or bother them. How do you think Zeke feels?

 

Sign 6

Pages 9-10

Text: Soon AUTUMN arrived, and so did a family of chipmunks.

“There goes the neighborhood!” said Pa. “Chipmunks steal acorns!”

“And they have lots of crying babies!” said Ma.

“But I love babies,” said Zeke.

Prompt: The author (she wrote the story) said Zeke loves babies. Look at the pictures. How does the illustrator (she drew the pictures) help you see that?

 

Sign 7

Pages 11-12

Text: Pa and Ma spent all day hoarding a winter’s worth of acorns. They hid them high up in the attic.

“Chipmunks don’t belong here.”

Prompt: Now Ma and Pa are hanging a sign that says, STAY OUT, on the tree. They want the tree all to themselves. Look at Zeke’s face in the picture. How do you think he feels about the sign?

 

Sign 8

Pages 13-14

Text: WINTER arrived. The birds flew south, and the chipmunks burrowed underground. The neighborhood was, once again, just the way it should be.

Prompt: To burrow underground means to dig a pathway or tunnel. Look at the pictures. Can you find where the chipmunks burrowed?

 

Sign 9

Pages 15-16

Text: UNTIL…SPRING arrived, and so did the blue jays, the chipmunks, and a family of –

“BEAVERS!” cheered Zeke.

“Don’t be so excited. Beavers are the worst neighbors of all!” said Pa.

“They’ll gnaw and chew and destroy everything,” said Ma. “Even oak trees!”

“But they build amazing structures!” said Zeke.

Prompt: Do you know what kind of amazing structures beavers build? Keep reading to find out if the beavers turn out to be good neighbors or bad neighbors…

 

Sign 10

Pages 17-18

Text: “Birds, chipmunks, and now beavers? I don’t think we belong here,” said Pa.

That night, Pa, Ma, and Zeke packed up everything they owned and moved to an old maple tree on the other side of the river.

Prompt: Do you think the Gray squirrel family will be happy with their move? Keep going to the next sign to find out…

 

Sign 11

Pages 19-20

Text: The Gray family settled into their new home. “Look, Zeke! There are lots of squirrels here, just like you,” said Ma. “Go up and play!”

Instead, Zeke looked across the river. He heard the blue jays singing, the baby chipmunks crying, and the beavers building. Zeke missed his friends.

Prompt: It sounds like Zeke really misses his friends a lot. What do you think he will do next? Keep going…

 

Sign 12

Pages 21-22

Text:  That night Zeke decided to go and visit the oak tree. Slowly he made his way, carefully balancing on the branches as he crossed the river below. Suddenly the sky got dark. Down came the rain, down came the hail…

Prompt: Uh, oh! This doesn’t look good! What do you think is going to happen to Zeke? Travel carefully to the next sign to find out!

 

Sign 13

Pages 23-24

Text:  CRASH! Down came the old maple tree.

“HELP!” HELP!” “HELP!”

Prompt: Oh, no! What do you think will happen to Zeke now? Will he be rescued? Keep going to the next sign to find out!

 

Sign 14

Pages 25-26

Text: Just then, two blue jays appeared. They lifted Zeke into the sky and carried him to safety. Downriver, the beavers quickly got to work building a dam, rescuing Ma and Pa.

Prompt: Hooray! Zeke and his parents are safe, thanks to the blue jays and the beavers. Do you think Ma and Pa will change their minds about Zeke’s friends now that they have saved the day? Go quickly to the next sign to find out!

 

Sign 15

Pages 27-28

Text:  Back at the oak tree the chipmunks met them with dry leaves and warm acorn soup.

Prompt: Looks like everyone is together at the oak tree again! The banners say Welcome Home!  How can you tell everyone is happy now?

 

Sign 16

Pages 29-30

Text: Life is now fine and dandy in the big oak tree on Forest Lane. Blue jays live UP. Chipmunks and beavers live DOWN. And in the MIDDLE lives the Gray squirrel family – Pa, Ma, and little Zeke.

Everyone plays together, works together, and eats together. And the neighborhood is just the way it should be.

Prompt: The big oak tree on Forest Lane is a VERY nice neighborhood now, isn’t it? Stretch your arms UP high for the blue jays, put your hands on your hips in the MIDDLE for the squirrels, and touch DOWN to your toes for the chipmunks and the beavers!

 

Sign 17

Pages 31-32

Text: The sign on the tree says – EVERYONE is WELCOME!

Prompt: Hooray! Everyone is happy now.

We hope you enjoyed this StoryWalk® of The Belonging Tree.

Thank you for coming. You are always welcome!

Five Extension Ideas for Additional Programming with StoryWalk® Selections

These ideas can apply to any of the books to engage families and extend the StoryWalk® experience for your community.

1. Consider having your StoryWalk® available for two to four weeks and then holding a special storytime centered around the book! Make it a celebration by including a special craft, a guest reader, a talk from a park ranger, a video clip of the real animals in their natural habitats, etc. This could be done in reverse order as a kick-off celebration for each new StoryWalk®.
2. Give families a Draw and Tell activity sheet for each book. Children can draw a picture of their favorite part of the story and tell parents about their picture. Parents may write down the child’s words, and they can read it together!
3. Create stick or paper bag puppets for the main characters in each book. Encourage parents to help their children retell the story with their puppets!
4. Create a Story Sack with objects or props for each of the stories. Children and parents can use the bags to talk about the characters and events together. For example, for Snail Crossing you could have a snail shell or a picture of a snail, a cabbage leaf, a toy truck, etc.
5. Create a STEAM display for each book. In addition to the StoryWalk® book, have related nonfiction books, facts about the animals, and nature materials connected to each story. Add a simple craft or sensory activity and a related poem or nursery rhyme to round out your display.

 

Resources for The Belonging Tree

Related Books Nuts to You! by Lois Ehlert (Fiction) Squirrel’s Sweater by Laura Renauld (Fiction) The Someone New by Jill Twiss (Fiction) Grey Squirrels by G. G. Lake (Nonfiction – Pebble Go Woodland Wildlife books) Squirrels: Animals that Make a Difference! by Ashley Lee (Nonfiction)

10 Fun Facts About Squirrels A squirrel’s front teeth never stop growing. Squirrels run in a zigzag pattern to escape predators. Squirrels may lose 25 percent of their buried food to thieves. Squirrels may pretend to bury a nut to throw off potential thieves. They dig a hole and vigorously cover it up again, but without depositing the nut.  Squirrels can find food buried beneath a foot of snow. A newborn squirrel is only about an inch long. Squirrels are acrobatic, intelligent, and adaptable. Squirrels get bulky to stay warm during the winter. Squirrels don’t dig up all of their buried nuts, which results in more trees! They have contributed many trees to our nation’s forests. Humans introduced squirrels to most of our major city parks.

Songs Gray Squirrel (Performed on the Kiboomers Channel) Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, shake your bushy tail! Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, shake your bushy tail! Wrinkle up your little nose, Hold a nut between your toes. Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, shake your bushy tail!

Poems The Squirrel Whisky, frisky, Hippity hop, Up he goes To the treetop! Whirly, twirly Round and round Down he scampers To the ground. Furly, curly What a tail! Tall as a feather Broad as a snail, Where’s his supper? In the shell. Snap, cracky Out it fell!   Five Little Squirrels Five little squirrels, sitting by the door, One ran away, and then there were four. Four little squirrels, climbing up a tree, One ran down, and that left three. Three little squirrels, with a coat so new, One ran away, and that left two. Two little squirrels, sitting in the sun, One ran away and that left one!