Ish by Peter H. Reynolds

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com

Picture book for children preK through 2nd grade
Young boy as main character
Rating: Delightful book that will encourage any child’s creativity!

Short, short summary: Ramon loves to draw anything! But his older brother laughs and makes fun of his drawings, and so he becomes discouraged. He crumples up drawing after drawing until his little sister steps in. She takes his crumpled drawings and hangs them on her wall. Ramon complains and says they don’t look like anything. And she says basically that his picture of a vase looks vase-ish! This “ish” idea gives Ramon new freedom, and he can draw all sorts of pictures now.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Ask students to draw pictures of abstract concepts and add “ish” to the end. Encourage them to be creative and not worry about their drawing too much, just like Ramon in the book. For example, ask them to draw a picture of “happy-ish” or “night-ish” or “love-ish.” Have students share their drawings with other students in the class.

2. Discuss how Ramon felt when his big brother made fun of him. Ask students if they have ever felt that way when someone made fun of them. This can lead to a discussion with students of how to be nice to their friends and siblings. Ask them to remember how it felt for Ramon when someone made fun of him whenever they are teasing someone.

3. You can talk with primary students about suffixes with this book. “Ish” is a suffix. When you add it to the end of a word, it changes the meaning slightly. What do these “real ish” words mean, such as “smartish” or “stylish” ? What are some other suffixes that your students know, such as “ed” or “ing.”

Please leave a comment if you have read this book or used it with your students or child.