Happy Sunday, everyone. We are continuing our countdown with Day Nine of Christie Wright Wild’s PB 14:14.

Having loved picture books for most of my life, I’ve read quite a few. Many of my favorites contain rhyme…which isn’t surprising since rhyme is one of the Top Ten Elements found in picture books.

So today my choice is a book that includes lots of rhyme.

Title: A Troop is a Group of Monkeys

Author: Julie Hedlund

Illustrator: Pamela Baron

Publisher: Little Bahalia Publishing

Date: 2013

Word Count: 250 estimated

Top Ten Element: Rhyme

Opening Lines:

“A parliament of owls hoots in the night.

A pandemonium of parrots begins to take flight.

A troop of monkeys travels by swinging.

A colony of bats spends the day clinging.

What makes this book really special is that each page delivers a word for the group of that particular animal. Did you know that a group of peacocks is called an ostentation? Or that a group of giraffes is called a tower? Or that a group of skunks is called a surfeit?

Enough of that!!!! (and another meaning for the word surfeit is to have enough of something and I’m thinking even one skunk would be more than I’d want)

This is such a fun book to read out loud – as most rhyming books are. But a parent or teacher could also use this book several ways as an educational tool.

How about asking a child to think of why that particular word was chosen for that animal group?

A shiver of sharks sheds teeth from huge jaws – I’d totally be shivering if a group of sharks swam near me!

A risk of lobsters cuts food with sharp claws – I’m not sure I’d want to risk walking on the beach where lobsters might be washed up on the sand.

A herd of seahorses sucks food with a squish – Giddy-up little horsey!

A kaleidoscope of butterflies flutters through daisies – A butterfly’s wings look exactly like the colorful patterns one sees in a kaleidoscope.

If you’d like to check out the other wonderful picture books that were posted today in Christie Wild’s PB 14:14 Challenge, please click the link: http://christiewrightwild.blogspot.com/2015/02/day-9-telephone-by-mac-barnett-dialogue.html

See you tomorrow!