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.

Return...And Journey And Quest Giveaway!

Title: Return 
Author: Aaron Becker 
Illustrator: Aaron Becker 
Publisher: Candlewick 
Publication Date: August 2nd, 2016 
Genre/Format: Fantasy/ Wordless Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: Failing to get the attention of her busy father, a lonely girl turns back to a fantastic world for friendship and adventure. It’s her third journey into the enticing realm of kings and emperors, castles and canals, exotic creatures and enchanting landscapes. This time, it will take something truly powerful to persuade her to return home, as a gripping backstory is revealed that will hold readers in its thrall. Caldecott Honor winner Aaron Becker delivers a suspenseful and moving climax to his wordless trilogy, an epic that began with the award-winning Journey and continued with the celebrated follow-up Quest.
What I Think: Return is the third book in the trilogy of lovely wordless picture books from Aaron Becker. In my review of Journey, I shared my love of wordless picture books and talked about the strong emotions elicited from the beautiful illustrations. Return also brings forth strong emotions and is a wonderful story that finishes off the trilogy. I mostly love wordless picture books as a way to share a story without having to be able to know how to read the words or speak a certain language to read the words. Anyone can enjoy it. As such, wordless picture books like Journey are awesome opportunities to create your own version of the story that matches the illustrations. Even though we're looking at the same drawings, we might interpret the story differently or put different words to the illustrations. It's a wonderful opportunity to get any writer started.
     Also as a mentor text, I love wordless picture books as starters for thinking about those emotions. I can't think of one wordless picture book that didn't tug at my heartstrings. They make you think, they make you feel...and from there we usually have something to write about. Love. It.
Writing Prompt: Write about at time in your life when you needed someone's help. How did you get their attention? How did it feel when you got the help you needed?
Book Trailer:

And if you haven't read Journey or Quest, I highly recommend them! Be sure to enter the giveaway of Journey and Quest below!

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The Typewriter

Title: The Typewriter 
Author: Bill Thomson 
Illustrator: Bill Thomson 
Publisher: Two Lions  
Publication Date: March 8th, 2016 
Genre/Format: Fantasy/Fiction/Wordless Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: Using just nine words, the award-winning creator of Chalk takes readers on another unforgettable journey. When three children discover a typewriter on a carousel, they are transported on an adventure of their own creation—complete with a giant beach ball and a threatening crab. Stunning, richly colored artwork is paired with limited text so children can tell their own version of the story. 
What I Think: I vividly remember bringing home Chalk by Bill Thomson when it first came out. Peanut loved it and was fascinated by the illustrations. Then we loved Fossil and now we have The Typewriter. Throughout them all, Bill's artwork continues to be amazing. His drawings are so detailed and definitely lifelike.
     Students in an art class at one of the schools I work at were lucky enough to Skype with Bill last week for World Read Aloud Day and they got to hear about hiw process and how long it takes him to complete one drawing/painting. You can tell from the illustrations that he takes a lot of time bring each picture to life. One of the students asked him about the butterfly which is in all three books...you'll have to look for it and see what you think it means that the butterfly can be spotted in each book!
     As a mentor text, I adore wordless picture books because of the opportunity to allow students to tell the story based on what they see on the page. Kids naturally make inferences but a wordless picture book gives them the opportunity to realize that taking in the information and determining something based off of the information is an inference. Besides inference practice, wordless picture books gives students the opportunity to write their own stories. They take away the stigma of not being able to read words and just let kids fall into a story and to tell it on their own. The whimsy in this story and others by Bill Thomson invite readers to imagine and it's lovely.
Read Together: Grades Pre-K - 5 
Read Alone: Grades Pre-K - 5 
Read With: Journey by Aaron Becker, Bluebird by Bob Staake 
Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when you discovered something new to you for the first time.  
Topics Covered: Exploration, Discovery, Adventure, Curiosity  
Additional Resources: 

Bill Thomson is the creator of Chalk and Fossil and the illustrator of Baseball Hour, Karate Hour, Soccer Hour, and Building with Dad, all written by Carol Nevius. Thomson’s books have received many accolades: the National Parenting Publications Gold Award, designation as a Notable Children’s Book by the American Library Association, a Teacher’s Choice selection from the International Reading Association, a Booklist Editor’s Choice, the Connecticut Book Award for Children’s Illustrator, Kentucky’s Bluegrass Award, Ohio’s Buckeye Children’s Book Award, and the Prix Livrentête in Paris, France. Thomson’s artwork has also received more than 75 awards in the country’s most prestigious juried illustration competitions.

     Thomson lives with his family in Southington, Connecticut and is also a professor of illustration at the University of Hartford. To see more of his artwork, visit: www.billthomson.com.

Download a CCSS-aligned curriculum guide for The Typewriter.

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*Thanks to Blue Slip Media for 

a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review 

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Fossil

Title: Fossil
Author: Bill Thomson    
Illustrator: Bill Thomson 
Publisher: Two Lions 
Publication Date: November 5th, 2013  
Genre/Format: Fantasy/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: When a boy and his dog go for a hike, the boy trips on a fossil, and it comes to life, revealing an ancient plant. The boy is so intrigued that he breaks two more fossils that come to life—a dragonfly and a pteranodon. When these prehistoric creatures collide with present reality, the boy must figure out a way to make things go back to normal. Visually told through art, this "wordless story" will surely spark imagination and creativity. 
What I Think: I was completely impressed by Bill's artwork in Chalk and he does another amazing job with Fossil. I can't imagine the time and energy it takes to be committed to all the detail in every drawing.
     Fossil builds off of the idea of inanimate objects coming to life that is introduced in Chalk. I love wordless picture books because they require the reader to really pay attention to everything in the illustrations and to piece together the story for themselves. When we first read Chalk, Peanut took it to my aunt to read to him. I watched as she had to rethink how to read the book since it didn't have words to guide her. Wordless books are fascinating in general but I love how Chalk and Fossil include a bit of magic and imagination to the story. If you watch the book trailer below, you'll see how much fun the kids have seeing what happens throughout the story. There is surprise and suspense as readers discover the boy's story and how he'll deal with the fossils that come to life right before his very eyes.
Read Together:  K - 6
Read Alone: K - 6 
Read With: Chalk by Bill Thomson, Tuesday by David Wiesner, Journey by Aaron Becker, Bluebird by Bob Staake 
Snatch of Text: 

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Inferences, Asking Questions, Making Predictions 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Descriptive, Figurative Language 
Writing Prompts: Use what you know about descriptive writing to tell someone about what is happening throughout the story or even on one page/layout of the story. What would you do if you discovered a fossil and it came to life?
Topics Covered: Imagination, Problem-Solving, Courage 

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Flora and the Flamingo

Title: Flora and the Flamingo 
Author: Molly Idle   
Illustrator: Molly Idle  
Publisher: Chronicle Books  
Publication Date: February 2013 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Wordless Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: In this innovative wordless picture book with interactive flaps, Flora and her graceful flamingo friend explore the trials and joys of friendship through an elaborate synchronized dance. With a twist, a turn, and even a flop, these unlikely friends learn at last how to dance together in perfect harmony. Full of humor and heart, this stunning performance (and splashy ending!) will have readers clapping for more!   
What I Think: Subtle colors and artwork and such graceful characters make this book easy to adore. I'm partial to the color pink so that might have something do to with it, but I can't imagine anyone could pick this book up and not feel soothed by this sweet stories of two unlikely friends. In this wordless picture book, Molly Idle brings two characters to life with her artwork. Despite that fact that there are no words in this book, the book completely spoke to me. It's like I know Flora and the flamingo inside and out. What I love most about this story is that when you really think about friendship, there truly is an unsaid connection that brings friends together. This book brings George Carlin's quote, "Everyone smiles in the same language" to life. In one of my Sunday posts, I've shared before how I believe in the power of a smile and that smile is actually an acronym for Show Me I'm Loved Everyday. This book is just a great way to share how we can connect with each other without having to say a word. We can show each other that we care and respect and value each other without having to say anything about it. I think this book would make a great beginning of the year read with elementary students to talk about how we interact and support each other. With older students, I can see how it could be used as an activity to discuss non-verbal communication and how we express so much without even saying a word or how even when we say a word, our body language and intonation add so much more meaning to the word.
     As a wordless picture book with great characters and a wonderful story, this can also be used as a writing exercise. Students can practice their descriptive writing by narrating what is happening in a scene/layout. It would be neat to divide students up into pairs and then give the pairs different layouts to describe. The final product would be a story that all the students had a part in writing and it would be neat to see how they used their descriptive writing skills to bring the story to life.
Read Together: Grades Pre-K - 3 
Read Alone: Grades Pre-K - 3 
Read With: Dogs Don't Do Ballet by Anna Kemp, Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman 
Snatch of Text: Visit this link to see the adorable book trailer for Flora and the Flamingo 
Reading Strategies to Practice: Making Inferences, Making Predictions 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Descriptive 
Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when you made a new friend. How did you introduce yourself? Did you get along right away? Did you find something in common? Choose one of the pictures in the book and narrate what is happening, use as much show-don't-tell language as you can to describe what is happening between Flora and the flamingo.
Topics Covered: Friendship, Courage

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Ball

Title: Ball 
Author: Mary Sullivan  
Illustrator: Mary Sullivan 
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children 
Publication Date: April 2, 2013
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Picture Book
GoodReads Summary: A dog with a ball is one of the most relentlessly hopeful creatures on Earth. After his best little-girl pal leaves for school, this dog hits up yoga mom, baby, and even the angry cat for a quick throw. No luck. Forced to go solo, the dog begins a hilarious one-sided game of fetch until naptime’s wild, ball-centric dream sequence. The pictures speak a thousand words in this comic book-style ode to canine monomania. Ball? Ball. 
What I Think: I'm so excited about this book! I think dogs make the best kind of pets and I love to see their fun personalities come through in picture books. We cracked up as we read this book and imagined what the dog was thinking throughout the story. As a basically wordless picture book, the story is told primarily through illustrations. The only word "spoken" throughout is ball. I immediately thought of Doug from the movie Up. That's the dog whose attention is captured any time he thinks there is a squirrel nearby. Love that movie, love that dog. Squirrel!
     Ball also reminded me of an activity I did once in high school about communication and body language. In pairs, we took turns having a conversation with only the words yes and no. The idea is that through body language and inflection, we can convey a message. This is a great activity in fluency because it becomes clear to students that how they say the words is just as important as the words that are being said. It can also be a great writing activity because a challenge in writing is to show instead of tell. Dialogue can be so important but also describing what a person is doing when he or she is talking can help give the reader a clear image of what is happening in the text.
     I'm envisioning this book in a bookstack with the other books recommended below and it makes me super excited! I love writing about pets with kids...it seems like every kid either has a pet, has had a pet (Wah!), or desperately would love to have a pet. Before I had my kids, I wrote lots of persuasive pieces with my students so they could help me try and convince my husband that we needed a dog. (We were never successful in changing his mind...although we did convince my students' parents a few times!) I adore each of the books below and how they bring pets or animals to life. And a bonus, no dogs die at the end of these books! Score! On the contrary, they are sure to bring a smile to kids' faces and make for an opportunity to compare and contrast the stories. You could look at how illustrators bring the stories to life, how the stories are told from different perspectives, how in some books the animals are personified while in others they are not. So many things to do and so many ideas for reading and writing with all of these texts.
     Stopping to imagine the world from someone else's shoes is so especially imperative in writing. This story gives kids a reason to imagine what the do might be thinking and then what the little girl might be thinking. Actually, kids could also imagine what the mom and the little baby is thinking in the story, too! After imagining what he or she might be thinking, students can try writing from different perspectives. Mary obviously chose to tell the story from the perspective of the dog, we never get to see the world outside of the house and it would be a great discussion to have with kids about why she might have decided to do that. There is just so much that can be done with this text and by matching it with other texts. So fun!
Read Together: Grades Pre-K - 12 
Read Alone: Grades Pre-K - 12 
Read With: Bird and Squirrel by James Burkes, Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt, Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires, A Ball For Daisy by Chris Raschka, Prudence Wants a Pet by Cathleen Daly, Boot and Shoe by Marla Frazee, Good Boy, Fergus! by David Shannon, Dogs Don't Do Ballet by Anna Kemp, Dog in Charge by K.L. Going
Snatch of Text:  

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Predictions, Fluency, Speaking, Making Inferences 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Descriptive, Perspective Taking
Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when you were anticipating something exciting that was going to happen and how you felt. Choose one scene and describe the dog and what he is doing. Make sure you show, don't tell. Pretend you are the dog in the story and write what he is thinking at one point in the story, then pretend you are the owner and write what she is thinking about while she is at school.
Topics Covered: Passion, Love, Friendship, Hopes and Dreams

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Bluebird

Title: Bluebird 
Author: Bob Staake 
Illustrator: Bob Staake 
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade 
Publication Date: April 9th, 2013 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: "Like nothing you have seen before," raves Kirkus Reviews in a starred review. 

In his most beautiful and moving work to date, Bob Staake explores the universal themes of loneliness, bullying, and the importance of friendship. In this emotional picture book, readers will be captivated as they follow the journey of a bluebird as he develops a friendship with a young boy and ultimately risks his life to save the boy from harm. Both simple and evocative, this timeless and profound story will resonate with readers young and old. 

Bob Staake has been working on this book for 10 years, and he believes it is the story he was born to write.
What I Think: There are so many things to say about this wonderful book. I think I'll start with Bob Staake himself. We love his books Look! A Book! and Look! Another Book! The are both huge hits in our house. His artwork is colorful and fun and reminds me a bit of Dan Yaccarino's work. This book has great illustrations that are very geometrical. Besides his unique style, this book is mostly in black and white...or maybe you would call it grayscale? He definitely uses the many colors of gray in between the black and white. The only other color is a light blue with the exception of the boldly colored bluebird. The artwork itself is impressive.
     That artwork plays a large part in this story because Bluebird is a wordless picture book. Great artwork has to come together in just the right way to tell the story in a wordless picture book and Bob Staake does a good job of piecing together the story in this book. I read that this book took Bob 10 years of work and it seems clear the intentionality within every panel on the page. I read this with Peanut and since he's only 5, we definitely had to talk about the different things happening on every page. It really made him think about how we treat others and how fragile life can be. This is definitely a book that takes thinking and that would be great to talk about with kids to help facilitate their thinking.
     Wordless picture books are usually great to use to generate writing ideas and I think this book is definitely one of those. I especially think that older kids would be able to make connections with this book. Friendship and loyalty and courage are all present in this book. I can see connections being made to young adult novels. Hunger Games comes to mind but also Harry Potter and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet...and I'm only speaking from what is coming to mind quickly. There are definitely connections to be made here!
Read Together: Grades K - 12 
Read Alone: Grades K - 12 
Read With: Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, Little Bird by Germano Zullo, Chalk by Bill Thomson, Those Darn Squirrels! by Adam Rubin, Wonder by RJ Palacio, Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Harry Potter (series) by JK Rowling 
Snatch of Text: 

Reading Strategies to Practice: Making Connections, Making Inferences 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Narrative 
Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when you did something to help a friend.  
Topics Covered: Loneliness, Friendship, Loss, Courage, Sacrifice, Loyalty

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Little Bird

Title: Little Bird 
Author: Germano Zullo 
Illustrator: Albertine 
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books 
Publication Date: March, 2012 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: A man drives his truck up to a cliff's edge. Unable to go any further, he opens the back door of his truck and a flock of birds flies out, but, as the man soon discovers, a small timid bird remains. Surprised and delighted, the man acts kindly towards the bird and an intimacy develops. After lunch, the man tries to show the bird that he should fly off and join his friends. The man's comic attempt at flight deepens the encounter between these two very different creatures. Soon the bird flies off and the man drives away, but in a surprise twist the bird and his friends return, and in a starkly lyrical moment we see them all experience something entirely new. 
What I Think: This book is almost a wordless picture book but not officially. Quite a lot of this story is told through the illustrations. They aren't intricate illustrations but they are bold and they make the reader stop and take in everything. It's almost as if the absence of too much going on caused me to stop and make sure I wasn't missing anything. It was fantastic to read with such intent and to look so closely at what the author and illustrator meant by the words and the pictures. I have to say I'm completely in love with the man in this book and his fat round belly but scrawny legs. He reminds me so much of the evil not-so-bad guy from the movie Despicable Me. He also reminds me of Uncle Fester The Adams Family. Both of them are funky but lovable and I think that's probably an accurate description of the man in Little Bird.
     I have so many questions about this book but the overall sense of wonder and whimsy made me forget about them...and that's rare. I usually get caught up on things that don't quite make sense to me but this book is just so fanciful I was able to get over those questions. Honestly, the intent and seriousness of the main character just makes me believe him and want to take off with him. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who messes around and if he's a believer then I'm a believer.
     I really enjoyed how much this book made me slow down and remember that our mindset and our belief in people and things can make all the difference sometimes. I would love to hear how kids interpret this book. Making a comparison between the main character in Little Bird and Mr. Crabtree from Extra Yarn would be really interesting!
Read Together: Grades 1 - 12  
Read Alone: Grades 4 - 12 
Read With: Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, Grandpa Green by Lane Smith, House Held Up By Trees by Ted Kooser 
Snatch of Text: 

"...little things are not made to be noticed. 

They are there to be discovered." 

Reading Strategies to Practice: Making Inferences, Inferring Character Traits, Asking Questions, Making Connections
Writing Strategies to Practice: Observation, Narrative 
Writing Prompts: Find a place to sit and observe things around you. Take writer's notebook and record the little things you discover. During the rest of your day, continue to be on the lookout for little things you can discover that you may have overlooked before. Are any of these little discoveries possible seed ideas?
Topics Covered: Life, Observation, Reflection

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The Circus Ship

Title: The Circus Ship
Author: Chris Van Dusen
Illustrator: Chris Van Dusen 
Publisher: Candlewick Press 
Publication Date: September 2009  
Genre/Format: Semi-Non-Fiction/Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: With stunning artwork and a rhyming text, the illustrator of the Mercy Watson books tells a tale of human-animal connection full of humor and heart.

When a circus ship runs aground off the coast of Maine, the poor animals are left on their own to swim the chilly waters. Staggering onto a nearby island, they soon win over the wary townspeople with their kind, courageous ways. So well do the critters blend in that when the greedy circus owner returns to claim them, villagers of all species conspire to outsmart the bloated blowhard. With buoyant rhymes and brilliantly caricatured illustrations evoking the early nineteenth century, Chris Van Dusen presents a hugely entertaining tale about the bonds of community — and a rare hidden-pictures spread for eagle-eyed readers of all ages. 
What I Think: I was drawn to this book because of the stunning cover. I didn't realize it was the same illustrator who does Kate DiCamillo's Mercy Watson series, but it makes sense because I love those illustrations as well. I love especially how the water is splashing up as the ship makes its way through the sea.
I was delighted that the story is every bit as wonderful as the cover. I love animals and its great to see a book where the animals in a circus - a circus run by a not-so-nice owner, too - get to escape their fate of circus-dom. The animals get to show how great they are and the villagers recognize this. My favorite page is when the circus owner comes to town after having tracked down the animals but they are no where to be found while, truthfully, they are right in front of his eyes. A great example of how it's important to pay attention to the illustrations as much as the text.
This book is also great for inferring the character traits of the circus owner. Van Dusen makes it pretty clear what we are supposed to think of the circus owner; he is very clearly a villain. A great chance to talk about story elements and plot in general. Love it!
Read Together: Grades 2 - 5 
Read Alone: Grades 3 - 5 
Read With: Heroes of the Surf by Elisa Carbone, Ollie the Purple Elephant by Jarrett Krosoczka, Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
Snatch of Text:

"Through chilly water, all night long,

the animals swam on,

until they reached an island beach

just before the dawn.

They pulled themselves up on the shore - 

bedraggled, cold, and beat - 

then staggered to the village

on weary, wobbly feet."  

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Inferences, Identifying Story Elements 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Compare and Contrast, Poetry, Characterization 
Writing Prompts: Write about what you were able to infer about the circus owner's character (character traits) and compare him to another character or person you know.
Topics Covered: Animals, Circus, Greed, Community, Helping Others, Peace

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Wonderstruck

Title: Wonderstruck
Author and Illustrator: Brian Selznick

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publication Date: September 2011

Genre/Format: Historical Fiction/[Graphic] Novel

Summary: In this dual story told in words and pictures, Brian Selznick tells the story of two deaf children. One in 1927, Rose is trapped in her home and just wants to be free. One in 1977, Ben has just lost his mother and has recently become deaf from a lightning strike. Both looking for a parent, acceptance and a true home. Wonderstruck follows the two characters who live 50 years apart, but have both lost a mother- one is dead, one is not but still gone. Both of the characters want more than anything to find somewhere where they belong. So, both run away to New York City to try to find what they are looking for.

What I Think: Anyone who has read Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick knows how beautiful his work (both his words and art) is and Wonderstruck continues the tradition he set with his first novel. It always amazes me how Brian Selznick can tell a story completely through pictures, but yet the message is as deep and clear as the story he tells with words. Just like Hugo Cabret, Wonderstruck has a very good chance at winning the Caldecott because of its beauty. Once again, I wish that Selznick's book fit the Newbery criteria, because it is good enough for that award as well.

Lastly, three things- 1) I didn't think Brian Selznick could compete with Hugo Cabret, but Wonderstruck does and it may even be better! 2) Dedicated to Maruice Sendack and feels as magical as one of his books. 3) As you read look for allusions to Konigsburg's Basil E. Frankweiler that Selznick mentions in his author notes. I am definitely going to reread both books and look for them!

Read Together: Grades 3 - 8

Read Alone: Grades 4 - 8

Read With: From the Mixed-Up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg, My Daniel by Pam Conrad, Call me Ahnighito by Pam Conrad, Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby

Snatch of Text: "But let us pause here and ask ourselves, What exactly is a museum? Is it a collection of acorns and leaves on a back porch, or is it a giant building costing tens of thousands of dollars,, build to house the rarest and finest things on Earth?

'It's both!" Ben heard himself say out loud.

Of course the answer is both. A museum is a collection of objects, all carefully displayed to tell some kind of magnificent story." (p. 97)

"The street was a riot of cars and flashing signs and people. Buildings climbed toward the sky on either side of the street the way the trees back home surrounded Ben's house. Dirty cars and yellow taxis paraded by. Smells he couldn't place bombarded him... Everyone everywhere seemed to be a different color, as if the cover of his social studies textbook had come to life around him." (p. 264)

Reading Strategies to Practice: Making connections, Narrating wordless pictures

Writing Strategies to Practice: Allusions, Imagery, Descriptive writing

Writing Prompts: If you lost your hearing, like Ben, what sound would you miss the most?; Ben and Rose both love the Museum of Natural History in NYC. What is a place that you could go back to over and over again?

Topics Covered: Death, Deafness, Natural History, Museums, Family, Friendship

Translated to Spanish: No

Chalk

Title: Chalk  
Author: Bill Thomson   
Illustrator: Bill Thomson  
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark
Publication Date: 2010   
Genre/Format: Realistic Ficton/Wordless Picture Book   
Summary: Three kids head to the park on a rainy day where they find some magical chalk that brings their drawings to life!  
What I Think: I think this might be my favorite wordless picture book!  I picked this up from the library and read it with Peanut in the car waiting for my husband one day.  We had fun looking at the pictures and figuring out together what was happening in the story.  We were both scared for the kiddos in the scary part (can't give it away...)!  We've reread this book many times since that first reading.  It's truly a story that illustrates the benefit of rereading because every time we read it we think about how to tell the story and anticipate what is going to happen next.  It reminds me of Mary Poppins when they jump into the chalk drawings but it also reminds me of Jumanji. 
Read Together: Pre-K - 12  
Read Alone: Pre-K - 12  
Read With: Karate Hour and other books by Bill Thomson; The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
Snatch of Text: There is no text!  The illustrations are absolutely superb though!   
Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Predictions, Making Inferences 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Writing With a Picture  
Writing Prompts: Write your own text to match the story, then revise it or go back and rewrite the story to see how it changes. 
Topics Covered: Imagination, Problem-Solving, Magic 
Translated to Spanish: Wordless!  Bonus!