Letters and words make up sentences and ultimately may create a story. These authors and illustrators have fun with just those ideas: letters and words.
Letters are all over the book, Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham and Caldecott Winning artist Paul O. Zelinsky. (Greenwillow Books, $16.99) The book opens looking like a typical ABC book, “A is for Apple, B is for Ball, and C is for Cat,” but on the “D” page is “D is for Moose.” Zebra informs Moose that he “does not start with D.” At first Moose is contrite and enters moving with subtleness from page to page until “M.” M is for Mouse.” What? Moose is astounded and then furious. He stomps through the next pages causing havoc to “N, O, and P.” Then he begins to cross out the letters so that “R is for Moose, S is for Moose,” and so forth until he gets to the “Z” page. The conflict resolves itself and the reader learns about friendship.
Author and illustrator Jim Averbeck entertains and informs with a single theme in Except If. (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, $16.99) The story begins, “An egg is not a baby bird, but it will become one, except if it becomes a baby snake.” This is a circular story in that the text shares a fact, then includes an exception until it concludes by returning to its original premise – an egg is not a baby bird except if. This provides a wonderful opportunity for the learner to predict what will happen next.
A lonely boy wishes for a friend in I’m Here by author and artist Peter H. Reynolds. (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, $16.99) The words of the story are transformed by such literary elements as alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, and sensory imagery. “Can you hear it? Voices. Splashes upon splashes of sound.” The sound is children playing ball but one young boy is not part of the group. “They are there. I am here.” The dilemma is how to direct the children’s attention to here. A “sailing paper glides from the air,” providing a resolution.
Using words to encourage is the goal of Jerry Spinelli in I Can Be Anything with bright colorful artwork from Jimmy Liao. (Little, Brown, and Company Books for Young Readers, $16.99) A young boy wonders, “When I grow up, what shall I be?” He then dreams of a plethora of ideas from “dandelion blower” to “bubblegum popper,” to “best part saver.” The illustrations are particularly important in visualizing how such occupations would be.
Story Time Blog 