The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Title: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Bargram Ibatoulline
Published: DiCamillo, K. (2006). The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane. MA: Candlewick.
Themes: adventure, love, childhood

WOW. This was the first book I've read by Kate DiCamillo.....and it definitely won't be my last! Edward Tulane is a china rabbit who resides with a little girl named Abilene. One day Edward experiences one of the worst things for a toy.....he gets lost. As Edward journeys through the deep ocean, garbage dumps, and traveling with a hobo, he learns the most important lesson of all....how to love.

To be completely honest with you, there's a point in this book where there's death and child abuse occurring. I sobbed like a baby. And as such, I would probably recommend this book for children Grade 3 and up.

Classroom Ideas:
- This is such a great book to explore more sophisticated vocabulary with (ex: jaunty, unsavory, exceptional)
- Explore the character development that Edward goes through.....as the pages progress, how is he changing? Students could compare how Edward was at the beginning of the book to how he was at the end.
- The author does not explicitly tell the reader what time period the story is taking place in. Have your students gather the clues and make an inference about the time period.
- Edward encounters many different owners during the journey of the book. Create characters profiles for each of the different owners and compare how Edward felt about each one of them.
- Have students pick one of the many owners that Edward has over the course of the book. Have them write about Edward from their point of view. (ex: How would Abilene describe Edward?)
- Reader's Theatre script for Chapter 22 found here.  
- There are SO many other books I thought of as I was reading this book. The Velveteen Rabbit, Pinocchio and Knuffle Bunny are just a few.


I hope you get a chance to pick up a copy of this book to read, it's truly a treasure.

- Brooke

Not a Box

Title: Not a Box

Author: Antoinette Portis
Illustrations: Antoinette Portis
Published: Portis, A. (2006). Not a box. Toronto : HarperCollins.
Themes: imagination, prediction

{Source}

Have you ever given a gift to a little one and when they open it, they're more excited about the box than the actual gift? This book is a little memory of that. From a race car to a rocket ship, this little bunny imagines this box to be anything he wants.

Classroom Ideas:
- If you can, get ahold of a large refrigerator box. Take it into your JK/SK class and see what they can imagine it to be - will it be a puppet house, a rocket ship, a lemonade stand...? The possibilities are endless!

{Source}

- Host your very own BYOB (Bring your own box) event! Have students bring in their own boxes to decorate and be creative with.
- The lady at this blog has some fantastic ideas to do NAB yoga - genius!
- Have the kids guess the next stage in the book as you are reading 
- Give each child a piece of paper with a square (box) drawn on it. Give them 10-20 seconds then have them FREEZE and switch papers. Repeat. Discussion: have the kids talk about how the idea was changed from person to person.
- And of course, you could always check out Not a Stick by the same author

What could you do with Not a Box?

- Brooke

Knuffle Bunny

Title: Knuffle Bunny

Author: Mo Willems
Illustrations: Mo Willems
Published: Willems, M. (2004). Knuffle bunny. New York: Hyperion Books.
Themes: childhood, loss, family, adventure

{Source}

Trixie ventures out on a special errand with her dad to the laurdomat. As a toddler, Trixie enjoys helping her dad put cloths into the machine and put the coins in their slot. As the two travel home,Trixie realizes that her beloved bunny was left at the laundromat. How will Trixie get her stuffed animal back? Will she ever see Knuffle Bunny again?

My JK/SK class totally LOVED this book! Any why wouldn't you? The illustrations are spectacular; Willems places his cartoon-ish illustrations in front of iconic New York scenarios. This is the first of the Knuffle Bunny trilogy; Knuffle Bunny Too and Knuffle Bunny Free.

Classroom Ideas:
- This is a fantastic book to do some text-to-self connections. Who hasn't lost something in their lives? Even my JK's were able to tell me of a time when one of their toys went missing, how they felt and what they did to help find it. 
- Have students write about their favourite toy using descriptive detail.
- This would be such a great book to have students do some work at retelling.
- Have students create their own art inspired by the book. Give students a black and white scenery and have them place their own characters on top.
- Create a character map for Trixie -- check out the two sequels to see how her character develops through the years.
- Have students compare Knuffle Bunny to other iconic books about stuffed animals, such as Corduroy and The Velveteen Rabbit. Have students create a Venn Diagram to discuss the similarities and the differences.



How can you not love this book?