The purpose of this reading is to create a story line that matches the illustrations. The discussion and activity options that follow the creating of the story line focus on analyzing the main idea, theme, character traits, setting and how all of the story elements fits 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”(tells) the story to you. Tie together the structure of a story to match the illustration. Make sure that you include essential story elements into your story structure: 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.
~Your child and you may alternate the pages as you tell the story 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 the little girl and the other characters.
DISCUSSION OPTIONS:
~Each time that you read/tell this story, your child and you may create new dialogue and new twists to the plot.
~Did you like reading a book without text? Explain.
~Talk about the author’s use of color. When does he use color and when does he draw everything in the same shades of color?
~Compare the first illustration and the last. What is the same and what is different? Why does the author use the same street scene at both the beginning and the end of the story?
ACTIVITY OPTIONS:
~Read I’m Bored, a previous Practickle selection. Both of the main characters are girls. Both are bored. Compare the two girls. How did they handle their problem and reach a solution?
~Searching both Mont St. Michel and Castle by David Macauley provides a wealth of visual information about castles that are similar to the illustrations by Aaron Becker.