I would like to share three wonderful mentor texts with you. I have included a few details and a short summary for each book. All of these focus books are examples of quality children’s literature that can be used for a variety of activities. Remember to check out my Activity Ideas page for fun games and activities to try at home!
Bats at the Library, written and illustrated by Brian Lies - One of three picture books in this series. In this book, the bats find an open window at the library. They fly in, and then they play and explore all night while the library is closed. Bats at the Library is a charming and funny book, with a rhyming pattern that young readers will enjoy. Some special characteristics of this book descriptive language/word choice and some great examples of punctuation. Best of all, Bats at the Library conveys a positive message about reading books.
Other book in this series: Bats at the Ballgame (2010) and Bats at the Beach (2006).
Lies, B. (2008). Bats at the library. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Digital cover image of Bats at the library by B. Lies. (2008). Retrieved from BrianLies.com. http://brianlies.com/brian_lies_library_main.html
Llama Llama Red Pajama, written and illustrated by Anna Dewdney- Another great series of books by another talented author/illustrator! After Mama Llama tucks Baby Llama in for the night, poor Baby Llama starts to worry and feel afraid. I think most families can really relate to the content of this book! This picture book has a smooth and repetitive rhyming pattern. It also contains interesting word choice. This is an especially good series of books for preschool-kindergarten children. My three-year-old son loves it!
Other books in this series: Llama Llama Mad at Mama (2007), Llama Llama Misses Mama (2009), Llama Llama Holiday Drama (2010), and the newly-published Llama Llama Home with Mama (2011).
Dewdney, A. (2005). Llama Llama red pajama. New York, NY: Viking.
Digital cover image of Llama Llama red pajama by A. Dewdney. (2005). Retrieved from AnnaDewdney.com. http://www.annadewdney.com/Annas_website/Home.html
Duck on a Bike, written and illustrated by David Shannon - A silly and humorous story about a duck who gets a crazy idea and decides to give it a try! This is a good mentor text for teaching the writing trait of organization. The story structure is pretty simple for children to recognize and imitate in their own writing. Also a good choice for the trait of ideas – Duck’s clever idea should inspire many students to take risks and get creative with their own story ideas.
Other books by David Shannon: No, David! (1998) and The Rain Came Down (2000).
Shannon, D. (2002). Duck on a bike. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
Digital cover image of Duck on a bike by D. Shannon. (2002). Retrieved from Scholastic.com. http://www.scholastic.com/titles/nodavid/davidshannon.htm.
*Just a reminder that I have included a short survey under the heading ”Polls”. Please feel free to voice your opinion about these focus books and the related activities. I would appreciate your feedback!
