In the Land of Milk and Honey by Joyce Carol Thomas

Publisher: Harper Collins

Date: September 18, 2012

Recommended Grades: 3-5

This is the true story of author Joyce Carol Thomas’s trip from Oklahoma to California in 1948, as a young girl.  Her journey is filled with excitement, hope, and promise. 

Lesson Idea:  

Mentor Text, Word Choice/Sensory Details: Read aloud In the Land of Milk and Honey and discuss the language choices the author makes.  Beyond the bay, mountains topped with ice cream snow. . ., the author uses lyrical language, similes and metaphors, and sensory details to describe a trip from flat lands, through desert and onward to the ocean.  Chart the language choices the author makes as part of a word choice anchor chart for students to borrow from when they are writing in writer’s workshop.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review by the publisher.

©2013 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books. All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

I’ve Seen the Promised Land: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Walter Dean Myers

Recommended Grades: 3-5

Set against key moments of the civil rights movement, Walter Dean Myers eloquently shares the story of the powerful spiritual leader and his belief that nonviolence could be used to overcome racial discrimination.

Lesson Idea:  

Mentor Text, Biography, Civil Rights, and Writer’s Workshop: Read aloud I’ve Seen the Promised Land: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and discuss how the author used key moments in the civil rights movement to write the biography.  Consider pairing this book with Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport, in which the author used key quotes from Dr. King as a backdrop to write his biography. Compare the author’s craft in both books and have students choose one type of craft to write a biography.

©2013 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books. All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

Unlikely Pairs by Bob Raczka

Recommended Grades: 3-5

In Unlikely Pairs, Bob Raczka offers us an exhibit like no other, organized solely for fun.  He matches paintings that ordinarily would not be paired in an art museum. 

Lesson Idea:  

Writer’s Workshop: Since Unlikely Pairs (Bob Raczka’s Art Adventures) is a wordless book (aside from the names and dates of the paintings), show the pairs of paintings to students.  Compare the paintings and determine why Raczka may have paired them.  Analyzing the paintings will help students become better critical thinkers.  After students have analyzed the paintings, ask them to write about what they see going on in the paintings.

©2013 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books. All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj

Recommended Grades: K-5

Cats have secrets they keep in a book.  But, if you are anything other than a cat, and especially a  mouse, you should not be reading it!  What happens when the cats test the readers to see if they meet the criteria to read the book?      

Lesson Idea:  

Read Aloud/Model Text: This is a fun read aloud for kids in the primary grades.  It also makes a good model text for writing dialogue.  The author uses bubbles to indicate when a cat is speaking.  Cat Secrets can also be used as a model for “talking directly to the reader.”  Both author’s craft techniques can be modeled for students in writer’s workshop.

©2013 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books. All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs: As Retold by Mo Willems

Recommended Grades: 2-5

A hilarious take on the fairy tale classic, three dinosaurs decide to tidy up their house, make their beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures.  They were definitely NOT trying to set up an unsuspecting, unsupervised little girl, name Goldilocks. Of course, anything that Mo Willems touches turns to gold-(ilocks).  

Lesson Idea:  

Writers Workshop:  Read aloud Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs: As Retold by Mo Willems and discuss the similarities to the original fairy tale.  Read aloud other fractured fairy tales – fairy tales that have been retold using different characters, settings, or points of view –  like The True Story of the Three Little Pigs or The Wolf Who Cried Boy and use them as model texts in writer’s workshop.  After students have been immersed in a fractured fairy tale study, have them write their own fractured fairy tale.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Harper Collins Children for review.

©2012 by Dawn Little for Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books. All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.