Blog: #kidlit Book of the Day - Page 1349 of 1360

Aqualicious
by Victoria Kann (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Pinkalicious and her family go on a trip to the beach for a day of sun, fun, and sand castles! The day gets even more exciting when Pinkalicious finds a mini-mermaid named Aqua while she’s collecting shells.

Snippet:
I was collecting seashells. I found a shell and held it next to my ear so I could hear the ocean.

TURN THE PAGE

Instead of hearing the ocean, I heard a little voice inside the shell.
“Put me down! I’m trying to nap!” the voice said.
“Eeeek!” I screamed. I was scared, but I was also curious. I looked inside the shell. I saw a little face with long hair.
“Can you help me?” said the little voice.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Trait: Organization On the first page of the story, we meet the main character and find out that she is at the beach collecting seashells. The scene is set with just two sentences.

I was collecting seashells. I found a shell and held it next to my ear so I could hear the ocean.

On the next page, the main character has a problem. Something unexpected happens and the story begins.

Instead of hearing the ocean, I heard a little voice inside the shell.

Trait: Voice This picture book is written in the first person voice. In a first person story the main character also acts as the narrator. Readers experience the world of the story by seeing what the main character sees. The main character’s inner thoughts show and tell the story.

I was collecting seashells. I found a shell and held it next to my ear so I could hear the ocean.

We find out what happens next with MORE inner monologue. Pinkalicious tells us…

Instead of hearing the ocean, I heard a little voice inside the shell.

In dialogue, EVERY character uses the first person voice. The dialogue tags tell us who is speaking.

“Put me down! I’m trying to nap!” the voice said.
“Eeeek!” I screamed. I was scared,

After she shows us how she feels, Pinkalicious tells us what happens next with more inner monologue.

I was scared, but I was also curious. I looked inside the shell. I saw a little face with long hair.

The story continues with dialogue. The other story character speaks and now there is a new story problem, one that will carry readers through the entire book.

“Can you help me?” said the little voice.

See the book trailer.

Ally-saurus & the First Day of School
by Richard Torrey (Author,Illustrator)

Booktalk: You can call her Ally-SAURUS! When Ally roars off to her first day at school, she hopes she’ll meet lots of other dinosaur-mad kids in class. Instead, she’s the only one chomping her food with fierce dino teeth and drawing dinosaurs on her nameplate. Even worse, a group of would-be “princesses” snubs her! Will Ally ever make new friends?

Snippet: Feeling much better, Ally-saurus began to chomp her sandwich with fierce teeth.

“ROAR! This is how dinosaurs eat!”

ROARRRRRRRRRR!

Soon the whole table was roaring and chomping.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Trait: Ideas Where do book ideas come from? On his blog, Torrey shares this:

Two years ago I scribbled the first draft of the story….

Notice that the character is a boy at first? Ideas are always evolving… The main character of this story became a girl who loves dinosaurs. And her name is a clever twist of the name of an actual dinosaur, the Allosaurus.

Throughout the book, Ally acts like a dinosaur.

Ally-saurus began to chomp her sandwich with fierce teeth.

True to character, the “Ally-saurus” talks like a dinosaur too.

“ROAR! This is how dinosaurs eat!”

On the page before this, the children seated at the table talk about their favorite things: dinosaurs, dragons, lions, and a new lunchbox. Three of the four children like creatures that roar, so the idea builds as the pages turn and Ally makes new friends with vivid imaginations just like hers on (as it says in the book title) the First Day of School.