Kellee – Page 119 – Unleashing Readers

A Brief History of Life on Earth by Clémence Dupont

April 22, 2023April 3, 2019 by Kellee

A Brief History of Life on Earth
Creator: Clémence Dupont
Published March 19th, 2019 by Prestel Junior

Summary: The story of life on earth unfolds in dramatic fashion in this amazing picture book that takes readers from 4.6 billion years ago to the present day.

It’s difficult to grasp the enormous changes life on Earth has undergone since it first came into existence, but this marvelously illustrated book makes learning about our planet’s fascinating history easy and entertaining. In an accordion style, the series of pages take readers through every major geological period, with bright artwork and detailed drawings. Opening on lava-filled oceans and smoking volcanoes, the book unfolds, era by era, to show how life evolved from tiny protozoa and crustaceans to dinosaurs and mammals.

Fully expanded to 8 meters (26 feet), this spectacular visual timeline is a very impressive panorama that reveals evolution in all its glory. Each page is brimming with illustrations that readers will turn to again and again. A celebration of life, this extraordinary and beautiful book illuminates the history of Earth for young readers in an unforgettable and delightful way.

About the Author: Clémence Dupont is an illustrator living in Strasbourg, France. This is her first book.

Review: This book is so beautiful, useful, and just plain neat! First, I love that it folds out (as does Trent!):

When folded out, it reaches 26 feet with one side showing the images created by the author for each of the time periods while the other side has a timeline which is to scale showing how long respectively each time period was.

This book is a work of art. How each time period stands alone yet also is part of the entire timeline when folded out is beautiful to see. Additionally, I adore the artist’s technique of art with rough edges and bright colors.

Each spread focuses on one time period and the life on Earth at the time with a brief write up in the bottom left corner; however, many of the organisms/animals/plants not mentioned in the paragraph are labeled allowing readers to jump into inquiry about them if they wish.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Did anyone else do the activity in elementary school where the teacher had the class convert the miles(?) between planets into centimeters then had the class create a to-scale solar system showing just how far apart the planets are? This book reminds me of that activity in that it shows the true expanse of time Earth has existed versus the very small time humans have. I would use this timeline to create a similar to-scale idea for students to show the history of life on Earth.

Also, as I stated above, each time period only has a brief write up and leaves much to research if one is interested.

Discussion Questions:

What surprised you about the history of life on Earth?
What did the timeline on the back show you about the history of life on Earth?
When did dinosaurs appear? When did the first human ancestor appear? (etc.)
What animal surprised you that has been around a long time?
What do you believe is the author’s purpose in creating the book in this structure?
How did the Earth change from one period to the next? Take two periods and compare and contrast them.

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Animals, Biology, Geology, Earth’s history

Recommended For:

Student-Created Interactive Timeline on the Struggle for Equal Rights in America

April 22, 2023April 2, 2019 by Kellee

When I began planning my research unit for my Advanced Reading classes, I took to asking my students what they would be interested in learning more about, and overwhelmingly they asked to learn about the Civil Rights movement and other aspects of Black American history; however, when we began planning, my students took note that there are many other fights for equal rights in American History, and they asked if we could focus on all of them. That is when this idea unfolded.

I teach three classes of Advanced Reading equaling 47 students. I wanted to make sure students were given choice in their topics and also were choosing topics based on their interests and not who is in their group, so I made different topics/time periods they could choose from and asked them to rate their interests. I then grouped them based on this and the students began to work.

The students began by researching their topic/time period independently and brainstorming a list of everything important that they could find that happened during that time period. Then, as a group they decided which ten or more events they were going to expand on and include in our timeline.

Once they had their events, they collaboratively researched the events creating a paragraph about each (with a link to sources) and an image (with a caption and source) to add to the timeline.

They then each added to our timeline creating what I believe is a resource that doesn’t exist anywhere else on the internet. The timeline begins with 1688 Quaker Petition Against Slavery and ends with the 2019 rejection of Trump’s Border Wall touching on events and people who have changed the course of our history.

Please view it on Sutori, and I hope you find a way to utilize and share it.
(Embedding it puts the whole timeline and it is VERY long.)

Also, please note: If you see anything that I missed (and my colleagues who helped vet the timeline missed) that is incorrect or not written in the most progressive way, please feel free to reach out to me at Kellee.Moye@gmail.com with any comments, questions, or concerns.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 4/1/19

April 1, 2019 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Wednesday: Review and Educators’ Guide: Taking Cover: One Girl’s Story of Growing Up During the Iranian Revolution by Nioucha Homayoonfar

Thursday: The Last Last-Day of Summer by Lamar Giles

Friday: Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway!: Yogi: The Life, Loves, and Language of Baseball Legend Yogi Berra by Barb Rosenstock
Giveaway open until Thursday!!

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

CONGRATULATIONS
Rica K.
for winning The Missing Piece of Charlie O’Reilly giveaway!

Kellee

I had a great visit with my sister and her new baby! One of the biggest highlights? Watching Trent read to Gunnar!

I also had no obligations, which was so nice and meant a lot of time to read! Here’s what I’ve read since I last shared on the 11th that I haven’t already blogged about:

My book club has a virtual visit with Todd Mitchell today, and I am happy to say that I read three of his books–all of them were so different, too! Backwards is a combination of Every Day and Before I Fall.
Check Please was a 2019 Morris Finalist, and when I saw that a graphic novel about a baking hockey player was receiving accolades, I knew I had to read it, and boy do I love that book! Unique format along with its unique premise, too! Can’t wait for the next anthology.
Gareth Hinds’s work is beautiful. Period. So I had no doubt The Iliad would be as well, and I was right. Just as he did with The Odyssey, he takes the original and transforms it by illustrating the story. They are so well done and really do help with comprehension of the story.
milk and honey by Rupi Kaur is a title I had heard here and there and have had a couple of students talk about how much they love it, but when I had a new student say it was her favorite book, I asked her if she owned it so I could borrow it. I can definitely see why my teenage students love the angst and love in this poetry anthology.
#murderfunding by Gretchen McNeil is the sequel to #murdertrending and WHOA! This series is so messed up and crazy (in a I CAN’T PUT DOWN THIS BOOK sort of way). Pretty gruesome and suspenseful, but is also just so much fun to read!

Anyone who truly knows me knows that The Giver is my heart book, so adapting it had a high bar to meet for me, and P. Craig Russell met all the expectations. Beautiful and heart wrenching just like the original. All the feels were there all over again!
So glad a student recommended and lent this Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps by Andrea Warren, a Sibert Honor, to me! Another POV of the pure travesty that was the Holocaust. Great pairing with Prisoner B3087 or even Hitler Youth. Such an important read as we face hatred around us.
I just love Phoebe and Marigold Heavenly Nostrils! And their adventures and narrative are so endearing and evolving—I can’t wait to see what they do next! I’ll definitely be getting this newest one when it comes out next month.
What kept me from reading this series for so long?! So many kids are afraid of long books, and I’m always searching for a solid middle school book with a great plot and well written but not too long to help get them going—well, I found it! Kidnapped: The Abduction is a continuation of the On the Run series, but it is not required that you read it.

Oh, Dog Man. You have my son’s heart, and I cannot thank you enough for that. You are the reason, right now, that he wants to go to bed: so he can read.
In Syracuse, Trent and I vowed to finish The House at Pooh Corner, and Milne’s stories are so nostalgic and fun to read.
I love myself an interactive narrator and the panda has some real fun with his narrator in this one. Does the panda have a problem or is he the problem?!?! Read this fun book (so fun my son had us read it over and over) to find out: The Panda Problem by Deborah Underwood.

Ricki

I love every book in this series, and We Are (Not) Friends is no exception. I am excited to review this one in full in a few weeks. It addresses issues surrounding friendship (including/excluding others and claiming people as our friends). Both of my sons really enjoyed this, and it is very accessible to different age levels. It’s resting beside me on our coffee table because my kids have asked to read it several times since we got it a few days ago. Lovers of this series will appreciate this new installment. If you haven’t checked out the series, I highly recommend it!

I finished listening to I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez. Ahhh, it is so beautifully written. I found the last third of the book to be very unpredictable, which I really enjoyed. This book tackles so many critical issues and would make for a great classroom text. I plan to use it in my college YAL course the next time I teach it.

Kellee

Reading: As She Fades by Abbi Glines
Listening: Kidnapped: The Search by Gordon Korman
Reading with Trent: Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild by Dav Pilkey
Listening with Trent: Frog and Toad Audio Collection by Arnold Lobel

Ricki

I am slowly savoring On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. I’m about 3/4 of the way through, and I have loved every minute of it. Bri’s voice is very strong.

Next, I plan to read a bunch of #metoo-related books. I am preparing for a literature circles unit on the books, and I am trying to decide which books to choose. I have some definite favorites, and then I have a long list of books I have not read. I’ve gotten some amazing feedback from some blogger friends (Kellee, Crystal B., Sarah A.), and they’ve really helped me narrow the other lists. They’ve also helped with the #metoo list, but I haven’t read enough to be decisive. Which are your absolute favorite #metoo books?

Tuesday: Student-Created Interactive Timeline on the Struggle for Equal Rights in America

Wednesday: A Brief History of Life on Earth by Clémence Dupont

Friday: Blog Tour with Review and Educators’ Guide!: Bat and the End of Everything by Elana K. Arnold

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Fostering Kindness and Empathy Through Literature” by Amalie Jahn, Author of The Next To Last Mistake

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

and

Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway!: Yogi: The Life, Loves, and Language of Baseball Legend Yogi Berra by Barb Rosenstock

June 4, 2019March 29, 2019 by Kellee

Yogi: The Life, Loves, and Language of Baseball Legend Yogi Berra
Author: Barb Rosenstock
Illustrator: Terry Widener
Published February 5th, 2019 by Calkins Creek

Summary: The life and famous words, such as “it ain’t over till it’s over,” of Major League Baseball player and New York Yankee Lawrence “Yogi” Berra are celebrated in this nonfiction picture book.

Yogi Berra loved his family, his neighborhood, his friends, and, most of all, baseball. He was crazy for it, ever since he was a young kid playing with friends in an abandoned dump. But baseball didn’t love him back–at least not at first. Yogi was different. He didn’t have the right look. When he finally made it to the major leagues, Yogi faced pranks and harassment from players, sportswriters, and fans. Their words hurt, but they made Yogi determined to show all that he could do. This book looks at the talents, loves, and inspirational words of this celebrated New York Yankee and American icon, who earned a World Series ring for each finger and made baseball love him back.

About the Creators:

Barb Rosenstock is best known for her many picture book biographies, including Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library, Ben Franklin’s Big Splash,The Streak, Dorothea’s Eyes, and Blue Grass Boy, all published by Calkins Creek. Her other recent titles include a picture book about Vincent Van Gogh, Vincent Can’t Sleep, and a picture book about Vasily Kandinsky, The Noisy Paint Box, which won the 2015 Caldecott Honor Medal. She lives outside Chicago with her family. Visit her at barbrosenstock.com.

Terry Widener is the award-winning illustrator of many picture books on athletes, including The Streak: How Joe DiMaggio Became America’s Hero, Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings, American Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle,and Lou Gehrig, The Luckiest Man. He is also the illustrator of The Kite That Bridged Two Nations by Alexis O’Neill. He lives in McKinney, Texas, with his wife and is the father of three grown children. Visit him at terrywidenerart.com.

Praise:

*“This excellent character study will be useful as a model for students writing research-based biographies since it includes extensive author’s notes, baseball statistics, a note about Yogi-isms, and secondary quotes about the man himself, but it will loved most of all by Yankees fans.” –School Library Connection, starred review

“(T)his picture-book biography…does an excellent job covering Berra as both baseball player and cultural icon. Widener’s illustrations…ably capture Berra’s short stature and big personality. Thorough back matter concludes the book, including a double-page spread of Berra’s ‘amazing’ stats, a bibliography, an author’s note, several photographs, and source notes.” –The Horn Book

“Rosenstock covers all the bases, focusing on Yogi’s great love of baseball, his determination to succeed, and, most of all, his longing for baseball to love him back. His perplexing, witty, and wise ‘Yogi-isms’ are incorporated in the text as well as appearing in large, hand-lettered blurbs within the illustrations. Widener’s colorful, muscular acrylic cartoons…beautifully capture his essence. A loving homage to a charismatic baseball hero.” –Kirkus Reviews

“(A) loving tribute to New York Yankee baseball legend Yogi Berra. Back matter documents his amazing career… and complement the storylike text that introduces a simple Italian kid from Saint Louis who loved his family, loved his friends, and really, really loved baseball. The illustrations capture the wistful, nostalgic mood… readers will come away with an appreciation for both the amazing athlete and the humble, unique individual. Source notes, a bibliography, and additional background information elevate this offering into viable research material, making this an entertaining and worthy addition to sports biography collections.” –Booklist

Review: I am always so impressed with Barb Rosenstock’s multi-faceted biographies.

You can tell she is a historian because of the accurate and well-represented history of whomever she is writing about as well as the detailed and interesting back matter that is included in her books. This one particularly is impressive with its research notes, statistics, Yogi-isms, and quotes about Yogi.
You can tell she is a master storyteller because her biographies are never dry history but are instead a beautiful narrative that brings the subject and their story to life.
You can tell she is a caring person because of the themes she incorporates within her stories and the people she chooses to write about.
With Yogi, you can tell she is a baseball fan because she represents the sport with the heart that those of us who love baseball can feel.

All of this, paired with an illustrator that brings movement and emotions to life, lends to a very engaging picture book biography!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This text is a perfect addition to the classroom with its many uses across literacy, history, physical education, and math!

Educators’ Guide provided by the publisher:

Discussion Questions:

How did the author incorporate “Yogi-isms” throughout the narrative? Choose one quote and explain how it fits in with the story.
Read the quotes about Yogi in the backmatter. Find evidence from the story to support the statements made by these individuals.
Make a list of character traits that Yogi Berra displayed in the story. Find evidence to support these traits.
Words hurt. But Yogi wouldn’t let them stop him. What does this tell you about him?
In what way do you think Yogi Berra impacted the players around him the most?
What makes Yogi Berra one of the best baseball players ever? Use evidence to support your statements.
Why do you think his parents let him go play baseball but not his brother?
In what way did the author and illustrator compare Yogi’s job as a gunner’s mate during World War II and his job as a catcher in the MLB?

Flagged Passages:

Book Trailer:

Read This If You Love: Baseball, Picture Book Biographies, Quotable Quotes

Recommended For:

Don’t Miss the Other Stops on the Blog Tour!

Monday, 3/18                       Mile High Reading
Tuesday, 3/19                      Book Q&A’s with Deborah Kalb
Wednesday, 3/20               Mrs. Knott’s Book Nook
Thursday, 3/21                     Behind the Scenes @BMP
Friday, 3/22                          Anatomy of Nonfiction
Monday, 3/25                      The Nonfiction Detectives
Wednesday, 3/27                KidLit Frenzy
Thursday, 3/28                    Celebrate Picture Books
Friday, 3/29                          Unleashing Readers

Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Thank you to Boyds Mills Press for providing a copy for review and giveaway!**

Review and Educators’ Guide: Taking Cover: One Girl’s Story of Growing Up During the Iranian Revolution by Nioucha Homayoonfar

March 27, 2019March 27, 2019 by Kellee

Taking Cover: One Girl’s Story of Growing Up During the Iranian Revolution
Author: Nioucha Homayoonfar
Foreward by Firoozeh Dumas
Published January 1st, 2019 by National Geographic Children’s Books

Summary: In the mid 1970’s Nioucha Homayoonfar’s French mother and Iranian father made a decision that would change her life forever. At the age of five, Nioucha and her parents moved from Pittsburgh to her father’s homeland of Iran, at the time a modern, bustling country where people from different religions co-existed peacefully and women and men alike pursued the highest level of education and professional opportunities. A new school, new language, and new friends took some time to get used to. But none of that compared to the changes that Nioucha experienced during and after the Iranian revolution of 1979. Once the Ayatollah took control, full robes and head scarves were required, religion classes became mandatory and boys were no longer allowed to interact with girls. Her life continued to be filled with family, friends, pop music and even her first boyfriend (although both the music and the boyfriend were strictly prohibited), but Tehran had become barely recognizable as bombs were dropped on her neighborhood, loved ones and even Nioucha herself were kidnapped, acquaintances were executed and day by day, their freedom was chipped away.

Publishing in time for the 40th anniversary of the Iranian revolution, Taking Cover reveals the extraordinary story of Nioucha’s struggle to adjust, to understand and to figure out her place in the world while unrest and oppression swirled around her. Additionally, this title is a unique blend of coming-of-age storytelling and history. Coupled with a thought-provoking forward by New York Times best-selling author Firoozeh Dumas (Funny in Farsi) Taking Cover encourages readers to take a deeper look at the importance of protecting religious, political, and social freedoms while Nioucha’s vivid descriptions of Iranian life — the food, the smells, and its customs — exposes readers to a country and culture rarely written about.

Review: Generally, our system of history education and media focus do not set up Americans with great global information which is evident in the many nonfiction and historical fiction books I’ve encountered in my recent lifetime that have taught me so much about the world. This is one of those books.

This memoir does a special thing in being a beautiful narrative that at its heart is about a young girl growing up but is also addresses the true prejudice against women in Iran as well as teach some basics about the Islam faith and the Iranian Revolution. It is hard to balance these objectives but Taking Cover does it really well which makes it perfect for middle school readers because the story will engage them while they are exposed to a time period and place that they may know little about, as I did.

Side note: Is anyone else really impressed by the vivid memories that some have of their childhood? That is another thing I took away from this book–I remember a lot less than others! Excerpts from the memoir would be wonderful as a mentor text about writing about memories using imagery.

Side note: I would love to do a memoir book club with diverse voices including Taking Cover! I was thinking Born a Crime (the new young reader edition), Hey Kiddo, Open Mic, and March Book One-Three. What other titles do you know of that would fit this idea?

Educators’ Guide provided by the publisher:

Flagged Passages: “CHAPTER 1: Fury 1986 (Part 1)

Javabe ablahan khomooshist. -Persian Proverb
Silence is the best answer to fools.

I knew I was in trouble when the white jeep made a U-turn. Driven by the Zeinab Sisters (or the Black Crows, as I called them), it raced toward me and screeched to a stop.

My mother was pushing my brother in a stroller. She had already crossed the street, but I’d lagged behind. So when the ‘Moral Police’ pulled in front of me, I was all alone. Their job was to ensure that all women and girls dressed in a manner dictated by Islam. To set an example, these four were covered head to toe in black chadors, and some even wore gloves.

The Black Crow sitting in the back seat jumped out and grabbed my arm without saying a word. I caught my mother’s eye just as I was being pushed inside the jeep. Maman stood helplessly, screaming across the traffic for the Crows to let me go.” (p. 11)

Read This If You Love: Memoirs, Learning about unreported history, Expanding your knowledge of the world

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Karen at Media Masters Publicity for providing the book for review!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 3/25/19

March 25, 2019 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Tuesday: Literacy Teachers Vlog: Kellee on Helping Struggling Readers Succeed

Thursday: Love by Stacy McAnulty

Friday: Tiger Days by M.H. Clark

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: Classroom Activities with Anything Can Happen in Mrs. Whynot’s Room by Jayne Peters

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Ricki

Three new summer picture book releases from Penguin! Yahoo!:

The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes is an adorable and charming book about a boy who imagines he is the king of kindergarten. As the mom of a son who is about to enter kindergarten, I am so thrilled that this book exists. It doesn’t even acknowledge the fear that some kids might have about kindergarten. Instead, it is so confident, and I love that we finished the book and my son said, “I want to be the king of kindergarten, too!”

My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero is absolutely lovely. It has such richness and depth. My kids kept making me turn back to previous pages, so they could soak in the details a bit more. I love Isabel Quintero’s YA work, so I was thrilled to see this picture book. It is quite marvelous.

Camp Tiger could be set in Colorado. It reminds me so much of the Poudre Canyon and our drives through it. The mountain setting is stunning. The main character of the book is used to annual camping trips, but he imagines a tiger joins them this year. This book has a lot of depth and offers a lot to talk about with kids. It made me a bit teary. I loved it and think it will be very popular this summer.

Ricki

I am just about finished with I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. I think I might be getting Internment by Samira Ahmed next. Has anyone read it yet?

Wednesday: Review and Educators’ Guide: Taking Cover: One Girl’s Story of Growing Up During the Iranian Revolution by Nioucha Homayoonfar

Thursday: The Last Last-Day of Summer by Lamar Giles

Friday: Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway!: Yogi: The Life, Loves, and Language of Baseball Legend Yogi Berra by Barb Rosenstock

and

Author Guest Post!: Classroom Activities with Anything Can Happen in Mrs. Whynot’s Room by Jayne Peters

March 24, 2019March 24, 2019 by Kellee

Anything Can Happen in Mrs. Whynot’s Room
Author: Jayne Peters
Illustrator: Traci Van Wagoner
Published October29,2014 by Puddle Duck Publishing

Summary: In Mrs. Whynot’s classroom writing is magical; pencils hover and clay characters come to life. But… everyone has something they find difficult and Marcy is no exception. She would like to do ANYTHING but write. She has NOTHING to write about. By talking to her classmates, playing with words and listening to stories Marcy realizes she has lots of tales to tell.

Classroom Ideas Written By the Author:

To the reader, once a book has been published, writing can seem magical and easy. (Disclaimer: There is some magic in Anything Can Happen in Mrs. Whynot’s Room) However, writing is the product of many hours of thinking, talking, questioning, observing, reading, and imagining with a huge amount of perseverance, grit and love. These are some of the skills our students need to further their creative journey and their love of reading and writing.

So let’s start with the first hurdle. Everyone, at one time or another, struggles with capturing ideas to write about. Mrs. Whynot, in Anything Can Happen in Mrs. Whynot’s Room, generates excitement and urges her students to think differently. She encourages discussion and creativity when she hands each student a hunk of clay that can be molded into any character they’d like. She wants them to write about everyday things and to use their imagination. Students learn they have full control over their story and that anything can happen as long as they can convince their reader. Mrs. Whynot gives some good advice when she says, “Write about what you know! Write about what you do! But most importantly, write about what you love!”

Read Aloud: Discussion Questions

Before Reading

Look at the cover

Who are the author and illustrator?
What do you notice?
What do you think the book will be about?
What characters would you expect to find in the story?
Do you think Mrs. Whynot’s name was chosen for a reason?

Read the back cover

Synopsis: In Mrs. Whynot’s classroom writing is magical; pencils hover and clay characters come to life. But… everyone has something they find difficult and Marcy is no exception. She would like to do ANYTHING but write. She has NOTHING to write about. By talking to her classmates, playing with words and listening to stories, Marcy realizes she has lots of tales to tell.

What do you know now?
What is one thing you find difficult?

During Reading

Page 4: Look at the door. It says “Imagination Required”. What does that mean?
Page 4: Why did the author use the word trudged? If she used skipped, walked, ran, plodded, etc… would they mean the same thing? Discuss the importance of using verbs that carry the message you want as an author.
Page 15: What do you think the grayed illustration represents? (Could she be imagining herself restless and tired as she tries to come up with an idea? Could she be thinking that her ideas are so boring, everyone has fallen asleep?
Page 29: “She bounced up to the whiteboard and whirled around to face the class.” Discuss how Marcy is feeling now. What words did the author use to help you understand how she feels?
Page 32: Talk about the gray bubble. (Do you think she is continuing her story that she shared with the class?)

After Reading

Was the title an appropriate one? Why or why not? What would you call the book if it was your story?
Can anyone make connections to Marcy? (Text to self, text to text or text to world)
Make a list like the one below with the students as you discuss all of the things Marcy did to help her become more comfortable and confident writing:

Molding a clay character
Talking about and listening to ideas
Creating an authority list
Making an “All About Me” collage
Getting ideas from other stories and changing them to suit your writing
Becoming a word sleuth
Carrying a writer’s notebook everywhere so that you can write down ideas

Have students:

create an “authority list” in their writer’s notebook listing all of the things they know about or like
create an “All About Me” collage to jumpstart their ideas
keep lists of interesting words as they are reading or listening to others. Interesting verbs can be especially useful.
Talk about their writing ideas and tell lots of oral stories

Teach students to “Show Don’t Tell” when they write. When we read we often need to infer (read between the lines) so when we write we need to show the reader what is happening instead of telling them.
Example: (Page 12) Marcy gulped, her hands began to sweat, and she stammered, “But I can’t write.” How is Marcy feeling? Nervous? Afraid? Unconfident? That’s way more interesting than if I just said: Marcy was nervous. “But I can’t write,” she said.
Page 24: We hear the beginning of Larissa’s story. Challenge students to finish it. I would love to hear about the mischief Herman gets himself into
Pages 31-32: Finish Marcy’s story for her. Figure out what the promise was her dad made to the witch and write about it.
Traci Van Wagoner did an amazing job illustrating Anything Can Happen in Mrs. Whynot’s Room. Learn more about her: https://tracivanwagoner.blogspot.com/ https://www.tracivanwagoner.com/
Have students mold their own clay characters and use them in their next story.

About the Author: Jayne Peters is an elementary school teacher/ literacy mentor who has taught in Nova Scotia for twenty-five years. As a child she loved sneaking up on tadpoles, late night reading under the covers and spending time at the cottage. Today, she loves watercolor painting, sunny days and country music. She currently lives in a house filled with red heads, loves molasses on “Grampy’s” homemade bread and wants the covers to stay neatly tucked in at night. When she isn’t teaching, reading or writing you will find her practicing yoga and spending quality time with her family. She is the author of Messy Jessy, Messy Jessy Get’s Active and Whispering Wings (available both in French and English). Jayne lives in Lantz, Nova Scotia, with her husband and their three children. Visit her website at http://puddleduckpublishing.com

About the Illustrator: Illustrator Traci Van Wagoner holds degrees in illustration from Utah State University and in toy design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. A longtime member of SCBWI, Van Wagoner has illustrated many children’s books, and her work appears in magazines, newsletters, and on toys and games. When not painting, she is designing and developing games with her husband at Imagine That! Design, gardening on her roof, or walking her dog in the BIG city. Her motto is live, laugh, and learn.

Thank you, Jayne, for your great classroom ideas with your book!