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Lovely Old Lion
by Julia Jarman (Author) and Susan Varley (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Lenny the lion loves his grandpa, King Lion. But when King Lion starts to forget things, Lenny begins to worry. He can’t understand why grandpa keeps getting muddled and doesn’t want to play any more. Lenny doesn’t know what to do, but with a little help from grandpa’s old friends, perhaps he can find a way to help him remember.

Snippet:
King Lion was Lenny’s grandpa.
He was kind and clever but one afternoon,
when they were playing Snakes and Ladders,
he forgot the up and down rule.
And he couldn’t remember Lenny’s name.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Trait: Organization A picture book is very short, so you need to get right to the point. On the first page of this picture book story, the two main characters are introduced. We meet them both and find how they are connected in just 5 words.

King Lion was Lenny’s grandpa.

In the next sentence, readers find out what the story problem is.

He was kind and clever but one afternoon,
when they were playing Snakes and Ladders,
he forgot the up and down rule.

Traits: Word Choice A note on the book flap says. “A moving tale of the loving bond between grandparent and grandchild, which transcends the tragic disease of dementia.”

The word dementia is NOT used in the story. It only appears in the sales copy on the inside of the book’s front jacket flap. Adults know what dementia is and what it does, but children do not.

Instead of using the medical term and expecting young readers to understand what it means, the author uses carefully choosen words that show what dementia looks like in daily life. The second sentence in the book shows young readers a specific example.

He was kind and clever but one afternoon,
when they were playing Snakes and Ladders,
he forgot the up and down rule.

The final sentence on this story page comes back to the main character. It is the second example of what dementia looks like in real life and like the first, it is very specific.

And he couldn’t remember Lenny’s name.

Now the story problem reaches beyond the game of Snakes and Ladders. It’s personal and painful and confusing! What is Lenny going to do?

Readers will turn the pages to find out what happens next in this gentle story. (And yes, young readers can use what they learn from Lenny in this story and apply it in the real world. Highly recommended!)

Buddy and Earl
by Maureen Fergus (Author) and Carey Sookocheff (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Buddy does not know what is in the box that Meredith carries into the living room. But when the small, prickly creature says he is a pirate — and that Buddy is a pirate too — the two mismatched friends are off on a grand adventure.

Snippet:
“Uh-oh,” said Earl. “We’re heading into a storm.”

“Uh-oh,” said Buddy.

“Can you hear the wind howling, Buddy?” cried Earl.

“I can hear it, Earl!” cried Buddy.

“Can you feel the waves crashing down on us, Buddy?” shouted Earl.

“I can feel them, Earl!” shouted Buddy.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Traits: Organization How you organize the ideas in a story affects how readers experience each scene. This page has three character interactions. Earl talks like a pirate three times.

One:

“Uh-oh,” said Earl. “We’re heading into a storm.”

“Uh-oh,” said Buddy.

Two:

“Can you hear the wind howling, Buddy?” cried Earl.

“I can hear it, Earl!” cried Buddy.

Three:

“Can you feel the waves crashing down on us, Buddy?” shouted Earl.

“I can feel them, Earl!” shouted Buddy.

Buddy repeats Earl’s words each time he replies. Buddy is acting like a pirate, too.

Traits: Word Choice The verbs used in the dialogue tags help the writer build tension in the story. The first verb is the simplest one, the “invisible” verb said:

“Uh-oh,” said Earl. “We’re heading into a storm.”

“Uh-oh,” said Buddy.

The next verb used in the dialogue tag, cried, reflects the rising tension:

cried Earl.

“I can hear it, Earl!” cried Buddy.

The third dialogue tag verb, shouted, shows readers that the tension has risen even higher:

“Can you feel the waves crashing down on us, Buddy?” shouted Earl.

“I can feel them, Earl!” shouted Buddy.

One, two, three–with three examples the imaginary pirate ship sails into a storm. With three verbs, the story tension rises. With three interactions, both characters participate fully in the world of their own imaginary story.

In Western stories, three is the number that feels complete. Three is the number that feels just right. Give it a try in your next story.