Summary

Eight animals walk to the market to get food for supper, dance the rest of the night, then go for a ride home. Introduces the numbers from one to eight and vocabulary in English and Spanish.

Activities

1. Why do you think the pig was late? Pretend you are the pig and tell the other animals why you are late.

2. One way of showing how eight animals rode in two cars is:
   2 in one car and 6 in the other car.
   What are three other ways of showing how eight animals could ride in two cars? Prove that there are only four ways of showing how eight animals could ride in two cars.

3. Find the page that shows Cat buying a bottle of milk. Look at the window. Are all of the other animals watching? If not, which animal is missing and why?

4. What else is sold in the shop that sells flies? What kind of store would sell flies?

5. What is bizcocho? Look up "bizcocho" in the Spanish Dictionary. Look up some other words in this Spanish Dictionary.

6. Read about artist Diego Rivera online. Click on the first link to see his painting Market. Compare this painting with the book illustrations by Lee Chapman. [To the teacher: Read more about Diego Rivera and paraphrase for students.]

7. Mark Milsk created a picture of Flower Vendors. What animal might want to buy flowers? Add another animal to the story that will be animal 9 and buy flowers. [To the teacher: study details by using the zoom and move tools. This painting by Miss Edith "Mark" Milsk is from the collection of The San Francisco Museum of Art]

8. The eight animals get together again to bake a cake in book two in the series. Each animal brings one ingredient. The eight animals get together to play at the park in book three in the series. Each animal brings something to play, but they decide to play baseball. No book four has been announced yet. What would you have the eight friends do next?
   • Elya, S. (2002). Eight animals bake a cake. Putnam Juvenile. grades k-3
   • Elya, S. (2003). Eight animals play ball. Putnam Juvenile. grades k-3

About the Author

• Penguin Group biography of Susan Middleton Elya, photo

• Say Hola to Susan (author website)

• Harcourt interview focusing on another of Susan Elya’s books, photo

Assessment

Eight Animals on the Town. Accelerated Reader: Quiz #65620 EN; Book Level 1.9; Points= 0.5

• Eight Animals Bake a Cake by Elya, Susan Middleton. AR Quiz #61135 EN; Book Level 2.0; Points= 0.5
• Eight Animals Play Ball by Elya, Susan Middleton. AR Quiz #68811 EN; Book Level 2.2; Points= 0.5