Fun. Creative. Interactive. Viviane Schwarz engages her readers by interacting with the characters in Is There a Dog in This Book? I just love how the characters chit-chat with you: “Oh, hello! You opened our book!” Andre’ sniffs and wonders if someone else is in their book. The hide-and-seek game begins between the cats and the dog. The reader engages in the hunt by lifting flaps in the book, seeking and adding to the story.
Author/ illustrator, Viviane Schwarz, shares her story about writing books in this 8-minute video. I love how she wants to inspire children to draw and write, creating their own books.
On this YouTube clip, the author reads her story to you. I think the kids will enjoy hearing her read this delightful tale. View her blog for more behind the scenes tidbits of her work. You will be introduced to other books by Viviane Schwarz.
Savorings for Is There a Dog in This Book?
Voice
Second Person Narrative – interaction with the characters
Power of 3
Speech bubbles
Character Description / change
Everyday Happening – children can relate to the topic; create stories using their pets
Setting – helps young children see the importance of the setting
Don’t judge a book by its cover. I was surprised with the number of craft moves in this book, Hogwash by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jim McMullan. Filled with rhyme and a humorous story line, your students will laugh at the banter between the farmer and the hogs. Specific vocabulary is used such as Suey, Suey spic ‘n’ span, cleaning duds.
In regards to a mentor text, I noted several words were contractions: here’s, let’s, weren’t, that’s, etc. Most pages have four lines, so my eyes caught the past tense verbs. I began to write a few down and my list grew to over 30. When teaching the -ed sound, this book would aide. Let the kids find and categorize the ending sounds. It will make for a fun lesson and one that will most likely connect with them.
Savorings for Hogwash:
One day
Turning Point – “Everything went dandy … until”
Rhyme
Character change
Specific Vocabulary
Contractions
Past Tense Verbs
Compare this text with Click, Clack, Moo by Doreen Cronin.
A dog shares his story of being branded with a label, left abandoned and then rescued by a boy, who needs someone too. The boy tries to persuade his mom to let the dog stay.
Fox is ready to build a tree house with her friends: Skunk, Bear, Frog, and Porcupine. All of a sudden, Moose arrives on the scene and he begins to shout orders. Teamwork seems to go by the wayside as Moose disrupts the groups’ plans.
“But what about you, Moose?” Fox asked with a glare. “You’re tromping about but not doing your share.”
View the book trailer with the class and predict what may happen. As a class talk about how this story compares with group work in class. You could possibly create guidelines for teamwork on projects.
Rabbit is worried he will miss snow and winter activities with spring coming. His friends present several different perspectives to persuade Rabbit that spring will be great too. Daniel Kirk shares his passion for writing on his website at this link. See a preview of The Thing About Spring and some teaching ideas at this link.
“What are you doing, Rabbit?” Mouse called.
“Saving snow, while I still can,” Rabbit grumbled. “We won’t see any more of this until next year!”
“But spring is coming,” Bird chirped. “Aren’t you excited?”
Savorings for The Thing About Spring:
Repeating Phrase – “The thing about spring is …”
Persuasion – seeing a different perspective
Magic of 3 – words in a series, sentences
“There are buds on the trees and new colors in the sky, and I feel warm and happy.”
Community Building – friendship; notice the positive
Character Change – Rabbit notices the surprises spring can bring
Science Connection – talk about the changes in the seasons.
Pair it with another book about fall to winter; compare changes
Karen Kaufman Orloff captures the voice of a child begging to change his circumstances. Kids are the best at persuasion. They insist. They give reasons. And they insist some more.
In I Wanna Go Home, Alex isn’t not thrilled with going to his grandparents instead of staying with a friend. His view point is limited. David Catrow captures the many faces of Alex as his perspective changes. The reader learns of his pleas to his findings to his adventures through letters (a delightful writing habit that many kids may not even recognize.)
Karen Kaufman Orloff has created a website with activities linked to her I Wanna books. Clink on the link here to see ways to use this text for persuasive writing.
Remember the telephone game? One person whispers to another, who shares it with someone else until it circles back to the owner. The final message is never like the beginning statement. Although you laugh at the ridiculous outcome, it’s not a laughing matter when rumors are spread about you.
In this story’s documentary, a friend’s compliment gets twisted into something hurtful. What James Saidprovides the opportunity for discussion regarding peaceful resolutions. And, who do you believe – a friend or a stranger? Watch this preview as a class and predict if they will become friends.
Amanda Noll has created two awesome fun reads. In I Need My Monster, Ethan wonders how he will sleep without his monster. Substitute monsters arrive, but they don’t have all of the traits that Gabe, his monster, has. Hey, That’s My Monster, Ethan has a bigger dilemma – his sister won’t go to sleep and his monster plans to camp out in her room. Emma doesn’t seem to be rattled by the visiting monsters. She giggles. She plays. She is not sleeping. Howard McWilliam brings the monsters to life in a fun, not scary, delightful tale of childhood bedtimes.
Pay it forward. In a time when turmoil and fear encircle us, we can choose to break the mold by helping others. Cara’s Kindness is a story of one character putting aside her problem to help another. In turn, the pay it forward then goes from one friend to another character. View a snippet of the book on this link. Kids of all ages can begin to think of ways to help others around them. Start in your classroom. Encourage it at home. How can they help the community?
The story also features a growth mindset.
“Well of course! That’s part of skating {or any part of life}. So the first think you need to learn is how to get back up.”
Two friends: Nerdy Birdy and Vulture. They are different, but they are real friends. A must-have book for my library!
Aaron Reynolds creates a delightful banter between two friends in Nerdy Birdy Tweets. Nerdy Birdy loves his video games and his new tweeter friends. Absorbed in the online media, he forgets his friend, Vulture. A story of learning to balance social media with relationships.
Check out video clips of books and interviews of Aaron Reynolds. View some of the illustrations by Matt Davies and tweets between Reynolds and Davies regarding their new book.
Posted by MaryHelen 
Rabbit is worried he will miss snow and winter activities with spring coming. His friends present several different perspectives to persuade Rabbit that spring will be great too. 
Remember the telephone game? One person whispers to another, who shares it with someone else until it circles back to the owner. The final message is never like the beginning statement. Although you laugh at the ridiculous outcome, it’s not a laughing matter when rumors are spread about you.
Two friends: Nerdy Birdy and Vulture. They are different, but they are real friends. A must-have book for my library!
Book Savors 