Eric Carle Part Two

Over the break, I picked up some $5.00 hardcover Eric Carle books and stuffed animals (from Kohls - GREAT buy!) They were a big hit with the kids, who cuddled with them while their friends read the Eric Carle books they took home to read over Christmas. 

It was really interesting and lovely having our friends share the books they read over and over while at home for two weeks. 

It was great - each student shared in their own way. Some students looked at the pictures for clues about the story and told it in their own words, while other children had the book mostly memorized and read the books all of the way through. Others combined what they remembered being read to them and added dialogue and details as they used the pictures and general plot to help them generate their own versions. Everyone had a wonderful time sharing and listening. 

Today, we went further in our study of Eric Carle. We recalled what an author is - "it's someone that writes their book" .... "and the characters too". Then we started to focus on the job of the illustrator. We watched the videos available on Eric Carle's Website that showed HOW he makes illustrations. The children (and I) were fascinated, and it generated a lot of questions and conversation. We talked about the many ways that one could illustrate. 


One of the children asked if we could illustrate (which was the PERFECT segue into our next activity). We came together as a small group to come up with a story. We were able to get the words together, so in the coming days (and let's be realistic, week or two), we are going to be working on a title, title page, and our very own illustrations! 


Here is our story, can't wait to share our book!: 


The animals are walking and they see a big pond. There was a bridge so they can walk across it. Then they walked on the playground. They slide down the sliding board. They went on the swings. Then the lion said, "can I get a cookie?" And his mom said, "no". The tortoise said, can I get ice cream?" And his mom said, "no". The rabbit said, "can I have a sandwich?". And his mom said, "yes". They ride the bike and the scooter, taking turns. The End.