Learning from Picture Books – SMALL SAUL

After reading The Most Magnificent Thing, I am a big fan of Ashley Spires, and this one is another great book to read in a classroom!

Summary from the publisher:

Ahoy there! Will this sweet little pirate find his place aboard The Rusty Squid or will he be forced to walk the plank?

When Small Saul joins the crew of The Rusty Squid, it doesn't take long for the other pirates to notice something is very different about this tiny fellow. He was born to sing sea shanties, bake pineapple upside down cakes and redecorate, not to hold a sword and plunder. Being rough and tough just isn't in his nature.

Small Saul learned at Pirate College that pirates only care about three things: their ship, being tough and lots and lots of treasure. Can Small Saul show these ruffians that despite his gentle spirit, he's worth his weight in gold? With treasure chests of laughs, 

Small Saul's high-seas adventure is a light-hearted celebration of individuality, perseverance and being true to one's self.

Small Saul was written and illustrated by Ashley Spires. It was published by Kids Can Press in 2011.

Opening:

“Small Saul loved the sea. He loved its vastness, its calmness, its blueness.”

My thoughts as a writer:

I really liked the opening of this book, especially with the dynamic angle that was chosen for the perspective of the first illustration. The introduction of Saul going to Pirate College was a lot of fun. There are lots of small details in the illustrations to add humor to the story.

My thoughts as a teacher:

The story is fun (always a great way to get kids to pay attention), but there are also some great opportunities for discussions about how it’s okay to be yourself and follow your own path. There is also a theme of perseverance in the way Saul tried different ways to fit in with the pirate crew.

Ages: 4 – 8

Grades: K - 3

Themes: individuality, perseverance, pirates, adventure

Activities:

What do you think pirates need to learn at Pirate College? Make a list.

Draw a treasure map and label it.

Make puppets and a pirate ship and act out the story of Small Saul.

The publisher also provided some ideas for using this book in the classroom.

What would you ask the author if you could? Here's an interview where she answers some student questions:

Learning from Picture Books: I Don't Want to Be a Frog

I actually like frogs and even wrote a novel about a toad (close cousin to a frog). But I can see why someone might want a different life sometimes! This cute story is short and a fun read for preschoolers.

Summary from Random House:

Fans of Mo Willems’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and Jon Klassen’s I Want My Hat Back will love meeting this willful young frog with a serious identity crisis. Frog wants to be anything but a slimy, wet frog. A cat, perhaps. Or a rabbit. An owl? But when a hungry wolf arrives—a wolf who HATES eating frogs—our hero decides that maybe being himself isn’t so bad after all. In this very silly story with a sly message, told in hilarious dialogue between a feisty young frog and his heard-it-all-before father, young readers will identify with little Frog’s desire to be something different, while laughing along at his stubborn yet endearing schemes to prove himself right.

I Don’t Want to Be a Frog was written by Dev Petty and illustrated by Mike Boldt. Doubleday, an Imprint of Random House Children’s Books, 2015.

This book has a fun book trailer! 

My thoughts as a writer:

This book is interesting because it departs from the usual structure with several attempts to solve a problem. The conflict comes from the child frog’s internal wish to be something else, and is solved when a new character suddenly comes into the story. Breaking traditional rules of structure works here since the whole book creates a very believable conversation between child and parent.

Dynamic illustrations and facial expressions bring out the humor in the story. A great partnership between writer and illustrator.

My thoughts as a teacher:

I’d use this story to promote discussion about feelings. It’s a great one for encouraging students to think about another person’s perspective. It puts the reader right in the shoes (or feet) of the child frog to look at the world from his point of view. This story might also be used to teach about how to write dialogue or use speech bubbles, since most of the story is presented through speech bubbles.

Themes: self-acceptance, being positive

Ages: 3 – 7

Grades: preschool – grade 2

Follow-Up Activities:

Choose an animal at random and write a list of reasons why or why not you might not like to be the animal. Or, take one of the animals from the story that the frog wanted to be and discuss the reasons why he might want to be that animal.

Make frog puppets (and a wolf) and retell or act out the story.

Do some research and create a mini book of interesting facts about frogs that other people might not know.