Come on, admit it, how many of you that read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis went to the back of your closet (of if you were lucky–a wardrobe) and tried to go to the land of Narnia? I’ll raise my hand! I did it!!!

The best thing about this Timeless Thursday book is not only has it been around since 1950, but you get to take a trip back to World War II London and a whole other land, Narnia. That’s the kind of adventures I like books to take me on, and that’s the kind of adventures that kids love, too!

When there are so many wonderful new books out today, why take the time to share a book like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis? There are a ton of reasons, so here are a few for teachers, parents, and homeschoolers:

*Read it with a study of World War II.
*Use it to open a discussion about telling the truth.
*Compare and contrast the movie version with the book. Which do children like better? Why?
*Talk about the Christian symbolism in the novel.
*Practice writing skills: ask children to pick their favorite character, and write a journal entry pretending to be that character.
*Use this book in a study of the fantasy genre–new and old.
*Art activity: ask students to pretend their closet could lead them anywhere. Draw a picture of the strange new land and the creatures in it. To extend the activity, they could write a story to go with it.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe will always be my favorite C. S. Lewis book, and actually, one of my favorite all-time books. I’ve read it countless times, listened to it on audio book, and watched the movie. I still cry when Aslan sacrifices himself and then comes back. My mouth still opens in surprise when the four children go back through the wardrobe and are the same age as they were when they left. And okay, I still go in the back of my closet every once in a while and see if it can take me to Narnia.

How about you?

*Picture book for preschoolers through third graders, contemporary
*Young boy as main character
*Rating: Looking Like Me is a rhythmic self-esteem-builder journey for young children by father/son duo Walter Dean and Christopher Myers.

Short, short summary: Looking Like Me is basically a list of all the things that a boy/girl can be. For example, in the beginning of the book, Jeremy says: “I looked in the mirror and what did I see? A real handsome dude looking just like me. He put out his fist. I gave it a bam!” Then along comes, Jeremy’s sister and tells him he is a little brother. She puts out her fist and he says, “I gave it a bam! Jeremy and brother, That’s who I am.” Thus the book continues as Jeremy takes the reader through every title that makes up who he is from son to writer to runner. And of course, each time, he gives the person a BAM! Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers is a book to read aloud to children over and over again.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. This is one of those books that would be a great activity for the beginning of the school year. Students could write at the top of a piece of paper, “I AM. . .” Then they could make a list of all the “titles” or “people” they are from family relationships to interests to everyday titles such as student or neighbor. You could also cut some letters out of magazines and build the words underneath the I AM with magazine letters instead of written letters to make the list more in the style of Christopher Myers’s illustrations.

2. Speaking of illustrations, the pictures in Looking Like Me are something to study. Each page has a photograph (at least one) under a multi-colored boy. Once you have read the book out loud to children, go back and study the pictures with them. Maybe even make a list of the photos and the words to see if there is any pattern. For example, on the page about being a runner, there’s a picture of an upside-down ketchup bottle and then a drawn illustration of a boy running. Students can even make their own illustrations in Christopher Myers’s style to go with their I AM lists.

3. Looking Like Me is an example of good word choice (one of the 6 traits of writing.) Discuss the specific words that jump out at students and why those are the perfect words to use in this story. Ask students if they think Walter Dean Myers just sat down and got these exact perfect words onto paper the first time he wrote the story. Did he have to play around with the word choice? Why does it make a better book?

Anybody who wants to share an I AM list here. . .feel free!

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So, how would you use a picture book to teach personal narratives?
In the example above, Patricia Polacco is always trying to do everything better than her brother. Then when she stays on the merry-go-round too long one day–longer than her brother–she gets hurt, and he helps her. It is a touching and nice story that centers on one event in Patricia’s life. Find this part of My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother and read it to your students. Ask them to point out strengths in the piece and what makes it a personal narrative.

Some other picture books that you could also use as examples of this genre when you are preparing lesson plans on teaching writing a personal narrative are:

You may need to just read part of the picture book if it gives a lot of details about other events or seems to go on longer than the personal narrative should. Remember (and IMHO), children and teenagers enjoy picture books, so share them and use them to get your teaching points across. Do you know any other picture books you can use with lesson plans on teaching writing a personal narrative?

*Picture book for prekindergartners through 2nd graders, fantasy
*Little girl as main character
*Rating: That Pesky Dragon is a fun read full of delightful pictures–who doesn’t love a good dragon story?

Short, short summary: On Izzie’s dad’s farm, there are cows, goats, sheep, chickens, dogs, cats, oh, and that pesky dragon! The dragon causes all sorts of problems for Izzie’s dad’s farm such as hard-boiling the chickens’ eggs with his fiery breath and frightening the cows, so that they give yogurt instead of milk. When that pesky dragon has caused enough problems for the family, Dad calls Remove-a-Dragon. But Izzie decides to investigate the dragon before he is removed, and she finds a surprise! It’s a baby dragon! Julie Sykes’s humor and Melanie Williamson’s illustrations really bring this dragon’s tale to life.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Reading skills are easy to teach with real picture books. One of the easiest reading skills to teach with picture books is making predictions, and That Pesky Dragon is a great book to practice making predictions. Can your students or your children predict why the dragon just stays at the top of the hill and roars instead of coming to the farm? What are some possible reasons for this? What about the ending that Julie Sykes has written? Can students figure out what will happen after the baby dragon is rescued? Depending on the age of your children or your students, you can ask students to discuss their predictions or write about them.

2. For a creative writing exercise, your students or your children could answer this prompt in their writing journals: “Izzie likes to have a dragon around on cold mornings for hot milk, hard-boiled eggs, and toast. Why would you like to have a dragon? What would you and your dragon do?” Ask students to illustrate their journal entries also. For younger students, you can do this writing activity as a shared writing activity. You can write this title across a piece of chart paper, “We would like to have a dragon because. . .” Each student or child can tell you why he wants to have a dragon. Then the students can illustrate their ideas.

3. Izzie is a character full of spunk! What are some adjectives that would describe Izzie? Ask students to do a character description of Izzie. Discuss with students if it is believable that Izzie would go see the dragon before Remove-a-Dragon could come and take it away. Then make a new character to add to the book–like Izzie’s best friend. Give this friend some characteristics that would make her NOT want to go see the dragon. For example, this new character might be timid or never adventurous. Maybe the new character is afraid of fire. With this activity, you want to introduce students or your children to characters’ motivations and feelings and creating realistic, believable characters in stories.

If you have used this book with your students or your children, please leave a comment and let us know about it. Do you have a favorite dragon book? Check out this blog for more information on children’s books: In Search of Giants.

Middle grade novel, realistic fiction
13-year-old boy as main character
Rating: Gary Paulsen tells a captivating story of Brian and his plight in Hatchet, a Newberry Honor Book.

Short, short summary: In Hatchet, Gary Paulsen tells the story of Brian Robeson, who is taking a single engine plane to visit his father because his parents are divorced. The plane crashes, the pilot dies, and Brian is left alone in the wilderness with a hatchet. He is angry over his parents’ actions, but now he must fight to survive. Brian’s adventure in Hatchet is one that all children and adults love to read.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. One of the most obvious, but worthwhile writing activites, to engage students while reading Gary Paulsen’s book is to ask them to put themselves in Brian’s shoes. Ask students to write about what they would have done if they were faced with a situation such as Brian’s. You can even ask them to write a “diary” entry where they pretend to be in the wilderness, and write about what they did that day.

2. What do students think Brian should do about the Secret? You can start a debate in your classroom or at home (if you homeschool) over this topic because all children will not agree. In the end of Hatchet, we find out that Brian does not tell his dad the Secret. Do students think this was a good idea or not? Why didn’t he tell his dad? If you want to get a lively discussion going in your classroom, this is a great topic to work on speech and debate skills.

3. Since Brian is the main character and one of the only characters for several chapters of the book, Hatchet is perfect for a character study. Ask students to list Brian’s character traits at the beginning of the book and then at the end of the book (the Epilogue can help with this). How does Brian change? You can also ask students or your children to write about or discuss how Brian’s character traits from the beginning of the novel helped in his survival. Yes, he changed, and he gained more valuable character traits throughout his adventure, but he had to have some before he started or he would not have survived.

If you have used this book in your classroom or at home, please leave a comment here and tell us how it went. For more Hatchet activities and lesson plans, please see: Teaching Theme and Author’s Purpose with Hatchet.

Middle-grade novel, contemporary
12-year-old boy as main character
Rating: A fun book that takes you for a ride. Unique and clever!

Short, short summary: Gil Goodson needs to win the Gollywhopper Games. Not just for the fame and fortune, but so he and his family can move away from Orchard Heights and start over. Gil’s dad used to work for Golly Toy and Game Company until the Incident. He was accused of stealing money from the company; and even though he was innocent, everyone in the town still thinks of him as guilty. Gil’s life changed, and he’s tired of it. The Gollywhopper Games are fantastic. The building where they are held is incredible. This book has many similarities to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but it has its own original flavor, too! (As a matter of fact, Feldman wrote this book after volunteering at a library and hearing a boy ask for a book like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and not being able to find one.) The main part of the games involve five children, including Gil, and they have to solve puzzles and perform stunts. Readers can try to solve the puzzles right along with the contestants. Children will LOVE this book!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. In The Gollywhopper Games, Gil and his teammates have to solve a lot of puzzles. You can do a couple activities with puzzles. You can have your students or your children create puzzles similar to the ones in the book where the first letters of all the words spell the solution, or the solution is found when you combine two of the words in the puzzle. You can also start a Wacky Wednesday or a Freaky Friday puzzle day. This just means that every Wednesday or Friday, you give your students some sort of puzzle to figure out. They have the whole day to work on it (like during free time or after they finish their work), and they turn in the solution by the end of the day. The next day, you go over the solution and acknowledge the students who figured it out.

2. The author uses many detailed descriptions, which are full of unique word choices. The Gollywhopper Games is a great book for teaching description writing or how to choose specific words to describe objects. After reading aloud several descriptive passages, ask your students to describe their bedrooms or a board game, concentrating on specific details and unique word choices. Word choice is one of the six traits of writing.

3. Gil is definitely a leader in this story. Ask your students what makes him a good leader? Why does his team win the first part of the competiton? Make a list on chart paper of the characteristics of a good leader and even a good team. Ask your students to write about this topic in their reading response journals. They can compare and contrast themselves or their team with Gil or his team. They could also write about a time they were a leader, or they used teamwork to succeed.

For more ideas on teaching writing skills, see The Writing Teacher. If you have used The Gollywhopper Games with your students or your children, and you have some great ideas, please share them with us here!

If you have a suggestion of a book for me to read and review, please let me know with a comment here or send me an email at margodll@aol.com

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

Chapter book, contemporary (but written in the 1960s) fantasy
Young boy and Ralph the mouse as main characters
Rating: One of my favorite Beverly Cleary books. Ralph is absolutely endearing, and kids love him!

Short, short summary: Ralph lives in a mousehole in Room 215 in Mountain View Inn. When Keith and his parents become tenants there, Ralph is excited that Keith may leave some food around. But then Ralph sees even something more wonderful than food–a little, toy motorcycle. Ralph craves action and investigates the motorcycle when the room is empty. Unfortunately, he winds up in the trash can. Keith rescues Ralph, and they talk to each other. Ralph winds up riding the motorcycle around Mountain View Inn and has many exciting adventures for a little mouse. When Keith gets a fever, Ralph wants to help his new friend. And he knows just how to do it!

So, what do I do with this book?
1. Ralph and Keith develop a great friendship. This is a book you can use to discuss with your students or your child what makes a good friend. What are the characteristics of a good friend? Ask students to write in their journals about why Ralph and Keith have a good friendship. Ask them to make a personal connection with the book by comparing and contrasting one of their friendships with Ralph and Keith’s.

2. Cause and effect are easy to teach with The Mouse and the Motorcycle. Ask students to find several cause and effect pairs in the story. They can write the pairs in their reading journals, such as–Cause: Keith leaves out his motorcycle. Effect: Ralph climbs up to look at it. You can also ask students to find the effects of several causes you list for them. You can list causes such as: Cause: The telephone rings. Effect???? and so on.

3. Beverly Cleary wrote a sequel to this book, and your students can, too. At the end of the story, Ralph keeps his motorcycle. Ask your students to write a story about another adventure with Ralph and his motorcycle. Will your students be in the story, will they make up characters, or will they use the characters from the story? When your students are finished with their sequels, and if they are interested, you can let students know about the sequel–Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary.

If you have used this book with your students or with your children, please leave a comment here and let us know how it went. For more ideas about teaching reading, please check out Sound It Out.

If you have a suggestion of a book for me to read and review, please email me at margodll@aol.com or leave a comment here.

photo by aturkus at www.flickr.com

Middle-grade fantasy novel
12-year-old boy as main character
Rating: A good fantasty read for middle-grade students full of laughs and fun!

Short, short summary: Part of The Magic Shop Book series, this book is full of voice and plot. Jeremy is running away from two bullies and Mary Lou Hutton when he stumbles upon Mr. Elives’s Magic Supplies Shop. He winds up taking home a dragon egg (which actually chooses him). Nothing unusual for a day in the life of a sixth grader! The rest of the book takes the reader through the hatching of the dragon–Tiamat, through Jeremy trying to keep an invisible dragon a secret (which actually is difficult), and through Jeremy saying good-bye to Tiamat. Because of all these adventures and his relationship with Tiamat, Jeremy becomes more creative and works through some of his own “relationship” problems. Kids will love this book, and they will want to read more of the series!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Students can write their own dragon or mystical pet stories while reading Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher or after they finish it. They can either pretend they have a new invisible pet living in their rooms, or they can pretend it happened to a friend or made-up character. Challenge your students to make a list of the characteristics of the creature BEFORE they start their stories. This way, their creatures and stories will be more consistent and believable, just like Coville’s.

2. This is a great book to work on the reading skill: cause and effect. Ask students to list several pairs of cause and effect. For example: Cause: Bullies wanted to hold down Jeremy for Mary Lou to kiss him. Effect: Jeremy runs and runs and runs until he finds the magic shop. Once students have pairs written down, ask them what would happen if one of the causes changed. OR Ask them if an effect can be a cause of something else and so on. Study how a story plot is made up of several causes and effects.

3. Ask students to journal about the ending of the story. Beginnings and endings (Organization) are one of the six traits of writing that are often studied. What do students think of the ending? Could they think of a different way to end it? Ask students to give the ending a rating from 1 to 10, and explain their rating. If they gave it a low rating, ask them to write what they would have changed. If they gave it a high rating (which most will!!!), ask them to write down two or three reasons why the ending is so good! Endings are very hard for children to write, and it is important to study great writers’ endings.

If you have used this book in your classroom or at home, please leave a comment here about some activities you did.

If you have an idea of a book for me to read and review, please email me at margodll@aol.com or leave a comment here.

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

Picture book for preK-K
Two young boys as main characters
Rating: A beautiful season deserves a beautiful, simple book.

Short, short, summary: If you teach preschool or kindergarten, this is a great book to use with your students. You can also use it at home if your child is this age and wants to know about autumn and the leaves changing colors. The text is simple–some children might be able to read it to you, and the pictures are beautiful, bright, and celebrate fall. Two brothers explain how they know fall is here, and what they like to do with the leaves falling from the trees. An illustration toward the end of the story shows some different types of leaves and the names of the trees they come from, such as ginkgo, beech, and oak. A wonderful preschool or Kindergarten activity is shown on the next page–making creatures and illustrations out of leaves. The last page of the book has a nice author’s note that explains what happens to the leaves in each season.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Collect leaves, label them, and make leaf creatures and illustrations like the brothers do in the book. You can help your students with the labeling, or you can invite an older class and do a buddy activity where students work together to post, identify, and label leaf collections. You can either have students bring in leaves from their homes, or you can go on a class leaf collection walk. You can also have a contest to see if your students or child can find the leaves that are labeled in the book.

2. The cycle of a tree’s leaves is perfect for working on sequencing skills. Ask students to draw a picture of a tree in all four seasons, like you see in the back of the book. After students have drawn a tree in summer, fall, winter, and spring, ask them to cut them out. (If you have students draw their trees and leaves on a notecard, you won’t need to cut them out. This is up to you.) Once students have them cut apart, then they give them to a partner. The partner needs to glue them in sequential order, starting with summer, and then label each season.

3. Ask students to write about their own experiences with fall leaves. Depending on your students’ ability levels, students can draw (or write) about their fall leaf experiences, tell them to you and you can write them down, or work with an older buddy student to write and illustrate fall leaf experiences. Students can compare and contrast their stories to the brothers’ story in Fall Leaves Fall!

If you have used this story with your students or your child, please leave a comment here and tell us how it went!

If you have a suggestion of a book for me to read and review, please email me at margodll@aol.com or leave a comment here.

photo by ctd 2005 on www.flickr.com

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

Picture book for preK-3, contemporary
A very talented dog and her police officer as main characters
Rating: Wonderful illustrations and a cute story that make safety lessons fun!

Short, short summary: I always used this book when I had to teach safety lessons to my students. There are so many safety tips in this book, you can cover it all–water safety, home safety, electronics safety, bike safety, and so on. Officer Buckle is BORING with a capital B, and the kids pay no attention to his dull safety assemblies until . . .Gloria, the dog, comes along and steals the show. As Officer Buckle stands on stage and recites safety tips, behind his back, Gloria acts them out, and she is a scream! Anyone who loves dogs will love this book. Not to mention, it is a Caldecott winner.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Illustrate the safety tips that are listed in this book. Each one of your students can pick a different safety tip. They should write it on a piece of paper, and depending on their age, they can write a few sentences explaining the tip. Then, they can illustrate the tip with either pictures of Officer Buckle and Gloria or their own characters. Safety education is often a large part of an elementary health curriculum, so check out your objectives, and see which ones you can hit with this book.

2. Officer Buckle’s speeches were boring until Gloria came along. You can use this book to talk to your students about what makes a good speaker. If students can practice public speaking from a young age, they can get over some of their fears and bad habits before they get older. Talk to your students about projecting, not leaning on the wall, eye contact, excitement in their voices, props, and speaking slowly when they are addressing a group. Let your students present their safety illustrations from activity one above to the class to practice public speaking.

3. Many safety tips are taught as DON’Ts, meaning we tell students and our children what NOT to do. Take some of the don’ts and turn them around. For example, take the safety rule, “Don’t go swimming during a storm,” and make it positive. “During a storm, you can play inside, read a book, or eat a snack. You can go swimming when the storm stops.” or Take “Don’t run in the hall,” and turn it around to say, “Walk in the hall.” You can make a list of these more positive safety tips on chart paper and hang them in your room.

If you have used this book in your classroom or with your child, please leave a comment here.

If you have a suggestion of a book for me to read and review, please email me at margodll@aol.com or leave a comment here.

photo by creative bloke, www.flickr.com