Review: The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig

The Invisible Boy
by Trudy Ludwig

ISBN-13: 9781582464503
Published: October 8, 2013 from Alfred A. Knopf
Purchased by my school

Meet Brian, the invisible boy. Nobody ever seems to notice him or think to include him in their group, game, or birthday party… until, that is, a new kid comes to class.

When Justin, the new boy, arrives, Brian is the first to make him feel welcome. And when Brian and Justin team up to work on a class project together, Brian finds a way to shine.

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig is a sweet book about what it means to acknowledge others. I love reading this one to my students early in the year as we often refer to it as conflicts arise in the classroom. Every year, a student makes connections to the beginning of the book when it talks about students who talk loudly, or misbehave, or are silly, etc. taking up most of the teacher’s time and other students not being noticed because of it.

Students notice how Brian is faded and colourless in the beginning, but slowly changes to full colour as he is “seen” by Justin. We have discussions around how it only takes one person to make another feel happy and confident, and included. We talk about reaching out past our current friends to find someone knew, who they may not have thought to play with.

It’s a powerful story with beautiful illustrations and definitely belongs in every classroom!

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Saturday Spotlight: Marie-Louise Gay

Marie-Louise Gay is a Canadian children’s book author and illustrator living in Montreal, Quebec. She has written and illustrated over 20 books for children and her website (http://marielouisegay.com) includes overviews of each of her stories, videos, resources for teachers, printables, and more.

I was very fortunate to hear her speak last October at a Professional Development conference on literature; she offered wonderful insight into her process and how teachers can encourage writing in the classroom. For today’s spotlight I am going to highlight my favourite Marie-Louise Gay books to use in the classroom: Mustafa and the Stella and Sam series. I’ve been using the Stella books for the last four years, but Mustafa is a new addition to my mentor text collection.

Mustafa is a beautiful picture book about a young boy who moves to a new country from a home very far away. The illustrations tell the story as much as the words do, and start “before” the story begins. Mustafa’s story is about loss, hope, friendship and new beginnings. This is a perfect picture book for children to connect to who speak a different language, who have moved to a new place or who are refugees. It also helps children who have not experienced these things to connect with their peers who have, and their experiences. My students and I have had fantastic conversations about what the see in the illustrations, about how everyone is different and how we should treat others, and the amazing connections they are able to make to Mustafa and his journey.

There are six Stella books and three Sam books in this lovely series about a brother and sister exploring the world around them. Stella is Sam’s big sister, and she knows everything! As they explore, Sam asks Stella all the questions. Stella answers them – whether she knows the “right” answer or not. Stella is brave, outgoing and adventurous; Sam is cautious, curious and while less outgoing then Stella, he still follows her. These books are perfect to use in lessons about questioning and imaginative writing. We always have great discussions about Stella’s answers to Sam’s questions!

Review: The Very, Very Far North by Dan Bar-el

The Very, Very Far North
by Dan Bar-el

ISBN-13:9781534433410
Publication date: Sept 3, 2019 by Atheneum BYR
Purchased by me

An inquisitive polar bear named Duane befriends an array of animals as he discovers where he belongs in this charming classic-in-the making that’s reminiscent of Winnie the Pooh.

In the Very, Very Far North, past the Cold, Cold Ocean and just below the hill that looks like a baby whale, you’ll find Duane and his friends.

Duane is a sweet and curious young bear who makes friends with everyone he meets—whether they’re bossy, like Major Puff the puffin, or a bit vain, like Handsome the musk ox, or very, very shy, like Boo the caribou. For these arctic friends, every day is a new adventure!

My students loved The Very, Very Far North by Dan Bar-el. I picked this one up at Indigo Books one day when I was searching for a read aloud that wasn’t too short, or part of a large series. The cover immediately drew my attention, and then the synopsis hooked me in. When I read it, I knew my students would be hooked – and they were!

Duane is just a precious main character. He has a bit of innocence about him as he explores his home and makes new friends. He’s gentle, and friendly, and is a fantastic narrator for the story. Each chapter is like its own mini story, a new adventure in Duane’s life that all adds up to a year in the very, very far north. The new friends are all introduced one at a time, often in quite interesting situations. My students enjoyed Twitch and Boo the best (outside of Duane himself of course) and loved guessing what would happen in the next chapter based on chapter titles.

The Very, Very Far North is a great read aloud for conversations around friendship and acceptance, science and art, and in a more curriculum related note, predictions, inferences, character building (traits in particular. Each character has such a wonderful and unique personality) and vocabulary (Handsome has quite a well-rounded vocabulary and he provided great opportunity to introduce new words to my students). Though aimed at middle grades, I read this with my grade one/two class. This one has earned it’s place on my yearly read aloud list!

Review: The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

The Wild Robot
by Peter Brown

ISBN-13: 9780316381994
Publication: April 5, 2016 from Little, Brown BYR
Purchased by me

When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. Why is she there? Where did she come from? And, most important, how will she survive in her harsh surroundings? Roz’s only hope is to learn from the island’s hostile animal inhabitants. When she tries to care for an orphaned gosling, the other animals finally decide to help, and the island starts to feel like home. Until one day, the robot’s mysterious past comes back to haunt her…

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown is a class favourite. It has taken a number of years to find decently long chapter books that are suitable as read alouds for my grade one/two class – children aged 5-8 (it’s quite a range!) and The Wild Robot is a winner. It’s written in amazingly kid friendly language using a fantastic mix of “big” words and simple sentences in a vivid visual manner, and the narrator often speaks to the audience. The story doesn’t shy away from the often harsh aspects of life for wild animals (and wild robots) living on a wild island. It speaks of death plainly and matter-of-factly, but also the beautiful moments of living in and with nature.

I read The Wild Robot near the end of the school year, around March – my kiddos are more mature and I leave myself enough time to read the sequel, The Wild Robot Escapes if they ask for it. And they always do. Students become attached to Roz and Brightbill and the other animals of the island, and need to know what happens after the end.

I found this story perfect for helping students visualize, infer and predict. Chapter titles help students predict what will be happening next, and they use their knowledge of the characters and the island to read between the lines in many scenes. The illustrations are nice additions to their own visualizations.

The Wild Robot is a book that is here to stay in my classroom!

Review: Roy and Roo Take a Trip to the Zoo by Diane Page

Roy and Roo Take a Trip to the Zoo
by Diane Page

ISBN-13: 9-780615-657592
Publication: 2012 from Bobbs and Company
Source: JKSCommunications
Rating: 4 ♥ / 5 ♥ – I really liked it

Rhyming words bounce off the pages of Diane Page’s new book, Roy and Roo Take a Trip to the Zoo. She watched her grandson, Zach, and his toy kangaroo, Roo, as they darted to and fro, never walking, but scurrying wherever they went. Zach, with Roo by his side, were always exploring the world around them and questioning, constantly questioning. What would be more fitting than to explain the primary and secondary colors in a fun way to children everywhere!

With the talent of illustrator, Bruce Bigelow, strange zoo creatures emerge to tell that story in a most delightful way. Little ones are fascinated with the critters that live in the zoo, but are not in cages.

Roy and Roo Take a Trip to the Zoo by Diane Page is an adorable picture book that focuses on teaching colours to young children.

Roy and Roo are exploring a zoo where the creatures are not caged in, are quite different than any animal we’d see in a zoo (I don’t think I’ve ever seen an orange Blanozan, for instance), and talk to you! Each animal that Roy and Roo encounter in the zoo is a different colour, corresponding with the three primary colours (red, yellow, blue) and the three secondary colours (orange, green, purple). The beginning of the book has a nice little introduction to the concept of primary and secondary colours, and reiterates the information again at the end.

Roy and Roo Take a Trip to the Zoo is full of interesting imagery, rhyme and rhythm. Children will enjoy exploring the zoo with Roy and Roo and discovering the strange new creatures inside. The fact they are learning about their colours as the read is a bonus! This book would also lend itself really well to creative writing assignments and art assignments in the classroom. I can just picture primary aged students creating their own colourful creature for their classmates to learn about.

Paperback copy provided by JKSCommunications in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!