Tops & Bottoms
Author: Janet Stevens
Illustrator: Janet Stevens
Publisher: Harcourt Brace & Company
Date: 1995
Awards: ALA Notable Book, Caldecott Honor Book (1996)
Ages: 4-8
Topics: picture book, bear, rabbits, hares, gardening, trickster tales, fables
Summary: This humorous tale follows a family of busy gardening rabbits who outwitt a lazy bear.
Book Connections
- Tops & Bottoms from Harcourt Trade Publishers
Topic Connections
Bears
- 42explore: Bears
- Bears from Wikipedia
Fables, Folktales, and Trickster Tales
- Fables from Wikipedia
- Folktales from Wikipedia
- Trickster Tales from Wikipedia
Gardening
- 42explore: Gardening
- Gardening from Wikipedia
Rabbits and Hares
- 42explore: Rabbits and Hares
- Rabbits and Hares from Wikipedia
Learning Connections
- Bear Stories. Write a story about outwitting the lazy bear.
- Bears in Fiction. Compare the bears in this book to other bears in fiction. Use the list of fictional bears from Wikipedia to get started.
- Garden. Use graphic software to show vegetables that grow below and above the ground.
- Rabbits in Fiction. Compare the rabbits and hare in this book to other rabbits and hare in fiction. Use the list of fictional rabbits from Wikipedia to get started.
- Tricksters. Some people would call this a trickster tale. Read other trickster tales and fables. What do they have in common?
Teaching Connections
- Book-based Lessons
and WebQuests
- Tops & Bottoms Lesson
- Tops & Bottoms Lesson
- Tops & Bottoms Lesson
- Tops & Bottoms Lesson
- Tops & Bottoms Lesson (PDF)
- Tops & Bottoms WebQuest
- Tops & Bottoms WebQuest
- Folktale Lessons
- Bear WebQuests
- Gardening WebQuests
Learn More
Do a Thinkfinity search for lessons related to this book.