word choice Archives - Anastasia Suen

Traveling Butterflies
by Susumu Shingu (Author/Illustrator)

Booktalk: Monarch butterfly migration is one of nature’s great mysteries. How do monarchs manage to fly some 2,500 miles from Canada and the northern United States south to Mexico? How do they trace a route they’ve never flown and reach the same destination their ancestors once found? See a monarch’s progression from an egg the size of a dewdrop through growth, metamorphosis, and preparation for their journey south to winter in Mexico before they return north in the spring.

Snippet:
One day in the short summer of a country up north,

TURN THE PAGE

a tiny creature wakes up inside
an egg as small as a dewdrop.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Traits: Organization The book begins with a single sentence. The first part of the sentence appears on the first double paged spread (2 facing book pages). Here the setting in introduced.

One day in the short summer of a country up north,

After the page is turned, readers meet the main character:

a tiny creature wakes up inside
an egg as small as a dewdrop.

A story begins when something changes. That change is called the inciting incident. What changes here?

a tiny creature wakes up

Traits: Word Choice The words in this opening sentence provide specific details for the reader.

One day

in the short summer

of a country up north,

TURN THE PAGE

a tiny creature

wakes up

inside an egg

as small as a dewdrop.

The simile at the end adds a poetic touch.

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!)