Customer Reviews

Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a wonderful book to use to teach students a variety of concepts! I used this book to start a lesson in computers. Students listened to the book and then we discussed some concepts: Value of books How TV can take over one's life Importance of reading Team Work

After this the students tracked their activities for 7 days - 24 hours a day. We then created spreadsheets with this information and finally graphed our information - using excel or other spreadsheed program. At the end of the session, I had some thought provoking questions that they needed to answer in small groups based upon their graphs and spreadsheets. They loved it!!

This book is a wonderful story about what happens when people no longer read. It has great imagery--books being used for table legs and to prop open doors, even as a dam. I used it in my seventh grade language arts class, following it up with a discussion of why reading is important. Even though it's a picture book, my seventh graders really got into it.

THEMES and/or Bibliotherapeutic Potential

Fictional parable for young readers ages five and up

The Power of Reading

Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair is a humorous parable by Patricia Polacco on the dangers of too much television watching. Aunt Chip took to her bed fifty years ago when the big television tower came to town and the library closed. She knew the consequences would be great. Everyone stopped reading and then did not remember how. Books were used, but not for reading. When Aunt Chip finally got out of bed to teach the children to read, they were reading so much they were taking books out of potholes and sagging buildings. Eventually they took books out of the dam and an ensuing flood caused the television tower to fall down, angering adults and inducing them to learn to read. Reading again reigned and Aunt Chip again was the town librarian.

The author tackles the issue of too much TV with her trademark humor and charm. Although not the very best of Patricia Polacco's books, Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair is an enjoyable read that opens many important questions dealing with literacy. Readers will enjoy her drawings and youngsters will be attracted to the lively Aunt Chip who has the strength and courage to stand up and bring the miracle of literacy to the townsfolk.

Teachers can use this book with its all-important theme to discuss both the value of reading, and think about how TV can take over a person's life. It is a great title to read during Say No to TV Week. Students can keep track of their TV watching and reading as they discuss what happened in Triple Creek and the effect reading can have on their lives.

This is a great book for talking to children about the importance of books and ties in perfectly with Say No to TV week! Our other favorites for Say No to TV include Library 'Lil and Shel Silverstein's poem, Jimmy Jet and the TV Set.

In Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam affair, Patricia Polacco teaches you that you shouldn't watch more t.v. than read. I thought this book was excellet. I recommend this book to people that like t.v. because maybe this will teach them a leason to STOP WATCHING T.V.! My favorite part of this book is when they destroyed the t.v. tower.

In the town of Triple Creek, television is the only source of entertainment and information. In fact, the teachers have even been replaced with educational programming. The library was torn down to make way for a television transmitter. For fifty years, the town has not read a book, but has instead used them to prop up buildings and fill in potholes. So long they have been without books, that they have actually forgotten to read.

When Eli begins visiting his Aunt Chip, she teaches him to read. The most wonderful gift in the world. His enthusiasm spreads and soon all the children are begging to have Aunt Chip teach them to get stories from a book. When the adults learn of what is happening they respond at first in fear and anger, but eventually want their children to teach them to read.

Why 5 stars?:
Polacco has a wonderful way of making her characters a little zany, but still real enough to be believable. The watercolor illustrations give the soft feeling of her words. Most importantly, the message of the importance of books and reading is something that purveys through most of Polacco's works. This book deserves to be a part of your home, school or classroom library. Read it to, and with your child. Let him or her know that you value reading and they will too.

Great book! I am a reading teacher and love Patricia Polacco's books to teach with. This story is wonderful to read to classess, especially around TV turnoff week.

This is a great book to read to children to stress the importance of reading. My kids loved all the different ways that the books were once used. They could't believe people were not reading. It really encouraged many of them to get out a book and read.

This book was OK. I liked the part where the townspeople were so stupid. They considered having someone stuck in the library door a catastrophe. I think that whoever read Moby Dick is crazy beacause that's like 500 pages or something and it looks boring. signed Sumayoia Crischu and Lilioi Kiber