craft Archives - Page 26 of 41

Push and Pull: Animal Opposites
by Cecilia Minden (Author)

Booktalk: The BIG Picture

This Level 1 guided reader illustrates examples of “pushing and pulling” found in the animal kingdom.

#kidlit Writing Lesson: the small details

The concept of opposites is shown in clear, simple terms in this beginning reader. On one page an animal pushes:

A cat can push through a flap in the door.

TURN THE PAGE and readers see a different animal pulling:

This dog is pulling in its leash.

The opposites are paired by types–these animals are both pets–so the book also teaches categorization.

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Ben Says Goodbye
by Sarah Ellis (Author) and Kim La Fave (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The BIG Picture

When Ben’s best friend Peter moves away, Ben decides that he will move, too–into a “cave” under the kitchen table. Caveman Ben doesn’t need any friends except his tame (stuffed) lion. He hunts for his food (thoughtfully left on a plate by Mom and Dad) and communicates in grunts. And in the safety of his cave he can imagine a world where friends control their own destinies and distance is no obstacle.

The sales copy on the back cover sums it up nicely:

#kidlit Writing Lesson: the small details

What does Ben do after his best friend moves away?

Ben decided he would move too. Not across the world. Not across the country. Not across town. He would move under the table. He would become a caveboy.

Notice the use of threes. There are three “he would move” phrases. The first sentence has one:

(1) Ben decided he would move too.

There are two more at the end:

(2) Not across the country.
(3) Not across town.

In between the three “he would move” phrases are three “Not across” phrases:

(1) Not across the world.
(2) Not across the country.
(3) Not across town.

#kidlit Writing Lesson: This page uses threes (twice!) to show the main character’s emotional reaction to the story problem.