The discussion and activity options focus on analyzing the main idea, theme, character traits, setting and how all of the story elements fit together to increase comprehension, retention, and knowledge of all that is in this marvelous story.

During this reading your child and you will read the story all the way through. Three ways that you can add fun and improve recall during this reading:
~You may switch roles and become the listener and the questioner as your child “reads” (retells) the story to you. Tie together the structure of a story to match the photographs. Make sure that you include essential story elements: setting (when and where), characters, problem that the character is trying to solve, and how the problem is resolved at the end of the story. Help your child match story telling to the photograph. Help your child know when the appropriate time is to turn the page.
~Your child and you may alternate the pages you read to each other.
~Dramatize the story. Take the roles and voices of the different characters. One of you can be the narrator. The other can be Hank and the hummingbirds.

DISCUSSION OPTIONS:
~Each time that you read this story, your child and you may create new dialogue and new twists to the plot.
~Do you like reading a book with no text? Explain.
~Think of words to describe what kind of personality Hank has. (possibilities: persistent, diligent, kind, curious, creative) How are Hank and you alike?
~Think of other story characters like Hank. One who might come to mind is Corduroy. Compare and contrast Corduroy and Hank. Compare and contrast Hank to any story character who comes to your mind.

ACTIVITY OPTIONS:
~ Rebecca Dudley used only paper, clay, fabric, and wire to make her dioramas. Can you find where she uses these materials?
~The Reading Comprehension Best Practice for this book is Graphic Organizers. (A graphic organizer is a way to organize specific information.) Make a graphic organizer similar to the one below. Fill in this Graphic Organizer with the story elements of Hank Finds an Egg.

STORY ELEMENTS: HANK FINDS AN EGG

As you know, Hank Finds an Egg is wordless. During this reading, you will focus on the details in the illustrations.There are no right or wrong answers to the questions that you pose to your listener in this reading. Since the pages are not numbered, page 1 is the first photograph.

Your child will be asked to infer what the characters might be thinking, feeling, or saying in the photographs. Your child will, also, be asked to predict what Hank might do next. If your child doesn’t have a response, mention that the information might be in the text during the Second Reading.

*Discuss the beautiful hand-crafted details in the photographs.

*Look at the cover. Hank is introduced. What kind of animal do you think Hank is? What kind of egg might be on the ground?

Page 1:
Discuss the setting of the story. (Setting is both the when and the where of the story.)
~What season might be shown on page 1? What is your evidence? (spring: some plants seem to be ready to bloom, eggs are laid by birds in the spring)
~ What is happening in the photograph?
~What might Hank be thinking as he looks at the egg?

Pages 2 – 3:
Talk about the order in which to view the photographs. (left to right)
~What is Hank doing?
~What might Hank be thinking?

Pages 4 – 7:
Look at this series of photographs.
You can repeat the following questions for each page:
~What is Hank doing?
~What might Hank be thinking?
~On page 7, predict what Hank is going to do with the piece of wood.

Pages 8 – 9:
~Look at the photographs in order. Talk about going from top to bottom.
~What is Hank doing? Was your prediction about the piece of wood correct?
~Has Hank gotten the egg back in the nest?
~Make another prediction about what might Hank try next.

Pages 10 – 11:
~What does Hank decide to do next to try to get the egg back into the nest?
~Do you think his new idea will work?

Pages 12 – 13:
~Does the ladder solve the problem?
~Help Hank think of another way to get the egg back into the nest.

Pages 14 – 15:
~On page 14, what is it that seems to have caught Hank’s attention? (the rising moon)
~What might Hank be thinking?
~Where do you think he might be going?

Pages 16 – 19:
Look at this series of photographs.
~Discuss what Hank is doing in each of the photographs.
~Why might Hank be sleeping with the egg?

Pages 20 – 21:
~On page 20, what time of the day do you think it is?
~Where do you think Hank might be going?

Pages 22 – 23:
Another character enters the story, a hummingbird.
~Why might the hummingbird be flying around the nest?
~What might the two characters be saying to each other?

Pages 24 – 25:
Look at the series of photographs.
~What is Hank doing in this series of photographs?

Pages 26 – 27:
~What has Hank done with the egg?
~What might Hank and the hummingbird be saying to each other?

Pages 28 – 31:
Look at the series of photographs.
~Whose idea do you think it is to wrap the egg in moss and have the hummingbird fly with it to the nest?
~On pages 30 and 31, what might Hank and the hummingbird be saying to each other?

Pages 32 – END:
Look at the series of photographs.
~What is happening?
~On page 35, which one of the hummingbirds is in the photograph with Hank? What might they be saying to each other?
~In the last photograph, how do you think Hank is feeling? Why might he be feeling this way?

ABOUT THIS BOOK: HANK FINDS AN EGG
by Rebecca Dudley

Through the handmade characters posed in forest dioramas, Ms. Dudley has created a miniature world that makes you forget that this story is crafted with paper, clay, wire, fabric, and a camera. Hank’s goodness and the breathtaking settings suggest a story that your child will want to create again and again. Each time you enjoy this book, you can stress different themes, such as: the power of kindness to others, friendship, and the importance of persistence.

There might be times that you go through the photographs just looking at all of the details that Ms. Dudley has created. For example, note the different forest plants and leaves that she made by hand. Small changes in Hank’s poses add so much to the interpretation of the story and the building of Hank into a character with recognizable personality traits. Because of the intricate details, this book is best enjoyed one-on-one or with a small group of younger readers since they may be able to relate to being too small to accomplish a task as Hank is.

Rebecca Dudley grew up near woods, hills, and streams. Her parents are very artistic and inventive people. Ms. Dudley thrived in that environment. The Amazon review shares: “In seventh grade she made an excellent model of the Parthenon out of file folders.

Everyone thought her parents made it, but she made it by herself on the dining room table.” Many of the reviews that I read spoke of the hours that she spent sewing Hank, constructing and staging each of the steps in the story. Ms. Dudley selected the final fifty-nine photographs from over 22,000 photos that she took to capture the perfect lighting to set the proper mood.

Some reviews indicate that Hank is a bear. Some, such as a review in the New York Times, think Hank is a monkey. Rebecca Dudley says,” He is neither. The great thing about working with an animal of no particular species is that I don’t have to make Hank behave like a monkey or a bear.”

Since, this is a wordless story, I chose Using Graphic Organizers as the Reading Comprehension Best Practice to accompany this story. You’ll find a graphic organizer in the THIRD READING: ACTIVITY OPTIONS to use to create your own storyline.