Little Fox in the Forest

Title: Little Fox in the Forest 
Author: Stephanie Graigin 
Illustrator: Stephanie Graigin 
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade Books
Publication Date: February 28th, 2017 
Genre/Format: Wordless/Picture Book
GoodReads Summary: A wordless picture book in which two friends follow a young fox deep into the woods and discover a wondrous and magical world. 
When a young girl brings her beloved stuffed fox to the playground, much to her astonishment, a real fox takes off with it! The girl chases the fox into the woods with her friend, the boy, following close behind, but soon the two children lose track of the fox. Wandering deeper and deeper into the forest, they come across a tall hedge with an archway. What do they find on the other side? A marvelous village of miniature stone cottages, tiny treehouses, and, most extraordinary of all, woodland creatures of every shape and size. But where is the little fox? And how will they find him?
What I Think: I'm such a fan of wordless picture books, in fact I've blogged about my favorite wordless picture books before and now I can add Little Fox in the Forest to the list. This book reminded me a bit of Aaron Becker's Journey and Mo Willem's Knufflebunny Free but with it's own story and certain charm. I absolutely love how the story goes from shades of blue and white to vibrant color. 
     I've decided the story sits perfectly in the realm of picture book magic. As I'm thinking about this, Please Bring Balloons by Lindsay Ward comes to mind too. Please Bring Balloons, Journey, and Little Fox in the Forest are stories where kids go off on adventures and then come back to their reality at the beginning...but something is just a bit different. It's picture book magic! It's the moment of knowing it was all in the character's imagination...except for that one element that made it back into their "real" world. I love this. This is a perfect example of how a book can elicit different responses from different readers. I think younger kids might accept the story as a story but older students can start to think about what exactly this idea of picture book magic is all about and how it might even connect with their own lives.
     As a mentor text, wordless picture books are a wonderful way to get writers started. Using the story as inspiration, writers can describe one drawing or tell the entire story. The great thing is the story is there, we just have to find the words to bring it to life. As a close read, wordless picture books are perfect for finding evidence to support your thinking. There are so many ways to interpret what's happening in the story and students can think about using evidence to defend what they have inferred from the illustrations.
Writing Prompt: Write about what similarities and differences you notice between Little Fox in the Forest and Journey and/or Please Bring Balloons.

Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads

Title: Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads 
Author: Bob Shea  
Illustrator: Lane Smith 
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press 
Publication Date: October 7th, 2014 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: Drywater Gulch has a toad problem. Not the hop-down-your-britches, croaking-all-night toad kind of problem. The thievin', hootin' and hollerin', steal-your-gold never-say-thank-you outlaw toad kind of problem.
 Then hope rides into town. Sheriff Ryan might only be seven years old, and he might not know much about shooting and roping. But he knows a lot about dinosaurs. Yes, dinosaurs. And it turns out that knowing a thing or two about paleontology can come in handy when it comes to hoodwinking and rounding up a few no-good bandits. From Bob Shea and Lane Smith comes this hilarious picture book, Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads.   
What I Think: What a cunning book! We've read this so many times and talked over and over again about just what Sheriff Ryan does in this town! It's pretty great what Bob and Lane have done here. I have no idea how they came up with this book but it's brilliant.

There seem to be more and more picture books that really push for close reading and I love that about children's literature today. I'm so glad my kids get to grow up reading books like Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads. This book is just another example of how picture books aren't only meant for elementary-age students. This would be a great book to read with older kids because the story is not quite what is seems after the first reading.

One element of the story that I think takes it to a higher level apart from the plot is the language. It's dripping with descriptive words and oozes dialect that is sometimes a bit hard to decipher, or at least might be more accessible for older kids. All of these rolled up into this book make for a great discussion of words and dialogue and how they impact a story. There's definitely a trick to getting dialogue just right and making sure that it truly adds to the character without taking away or distracting from the plot. Reading this book with attention to word choice and then looking at others as well might be a great activity for looking at how dialect and dialogue impact our writing.

Read Together: Grades 3 - 12 
Read Alone: Grades 4 - 12 
Read With: One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka 
Snatch of Text:  

"Why, those Toad brothers

would steal your gold, kiss

your cattle, and insult your

chili. Hootin', hollarin', and 

cussin' all the while.

Mayor McMuffin was

beside his self. His cumin-

scented town was a goner."  

Writing Prompts: Write about whether you think there really were dinosaurs coming to town or not. Support your answer with evidence from the text.
Topics Covered: Wit, Determination, Confidence 

I *heart* It:

*Thanks to Roaring Brook Press for 

a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review!*

Funny Little Bird

Title: A Funny Little Bird 
Author: Jennifer Yerkes  
Illustrator: Jennifer Yerkes 
Publisher: Sourcebooks by Jabberwocky 
Publication Date: May 7th, 2013 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: A lonely, invisible bird mistakenly believes that adorning himself with flashy feathers and flowers will make him beautiful and win him new friends. Except his plan quickly backfires when his magnificent plumage attracts the attention of everyone, even the fox! In his rush to safety the little bird loses every last bit of his new decorations, making him invisible once again. Except now in place of his loneliness is the knowledge that putting others first is the key to friendship and high self-esteem. 
What I Think: All school year, I have been focusing on looking closely at my own personality and strengths and weaknesses and how I interact with others who bring similar or different personality preferences. Just yesterday, our department received the book Stand Out by Marcus Buckingham. It focuses on recognizing and capitalizing on one's strengths. As a department, we took the quiz to find out what are our two strengths and then what those combined mean about who we are and our role. It was so interesting and so far has seemed very accurate. I'm eager to read the book and find out more about it's message but it's timely as I discuss this book about a little lonely bird who is trying to find his place in the world. The more I think about stories, the more I realize that the problems people involve people more often than not. In thinking about young adult literature especially, communication and fitting in and developing one's identity is so prevalent because that's exactly what adolescents are experiencing and grappling with.
     This sweet little story made me stop and think about what the little bird is experiencing and what choices he makes at different times in the book and how he feels by the end. The message of allowing yourself to be who you are and surrounding yourself with people who will support that is an important one for students of any age to think about and recognize. This book would make a great read aloud at the beginning of the year while building respect and rapport with students or throughout the year as a reminder of how we acknowledge each other's differences and try to celebrate those. This book would match really well with any book about recognizing differences and/or bullying.
Read Together: Grades 3 - 12 
Read Alone: Grades 3 - 12 
Read With: Wonder by RJ Palacio, Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper, One by Katherine Otoshi, The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss  
Snatch of Text: 

"The funny little bird decided not to be sad 

and continued on his way, 

with a souvenir under his wing, 

and an idea in his head." 

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Inferences 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Sentence Complexity, Supporting with Evidence   
Writing Prompts: Write about what you can infer about the funny little bird and how he was feeling and why he made the decision to be himself at the end. Include evidence from the text that supports your inferences. 
Topics Covered: Individuality, Adversity, Self-Esteem, Self-Confidence, Friendship

I *heart* It: