As I drove home from my School Library tonight the host on the radio was talking about collections. In particular he talked about people who collect toys. I have a great collection of soft toys that match with stories for example Spot, Clifford, Kipper, and Arthur – the famous book dogs. Why mention this? Because it is a great example of serendipity – I love that word and serendipity is the key to this book.Donavan collects words which he researches and writes on yellow paper with a purple pen. His first words for the collection, which Donavan keeps in a large jar, are nutrition, ballyhoo, boutique, pincers, profound and hush.
This tiny chapter book is only 70 pages but it packs a huge emotional punch at the end which I won’t give away. The big issue for Donavan is what to now his word jar is full. He seeks advice from everyone but while each person offers a possible solution ultimately all say Donavan must make his own decision.
It was also fun to discover the author's son is called Donavan.
There is always someone out there who shares their work. I found some fabulous teaching ideas for this book.
I also found a page with all the wonderful words from the book and a game too!
A couple of years ago we made a word wall for our library. All the children and parents sent in their favourite words and we printed them onto brick coloured paper and posted them on a notice board. We might do this again when my class reads this book early next year.
No comments:
Post a Comment