Mentor Text: Interrupting Chicken Written and Illustrated by David Ezra Stein

Interrupting Chicken
Written and Illustrated by David Ezra Stein
Candlewick Press, 2010

• Caldecott Honor 2011
• Characters who like to read and write
• Writer's craft
•  Humor
• Infusion of traditional stories within a storyline (complimentary to fractured fairy tales)
• Effective use of dialogue
• Writing traits:
• voice
• presentation 

Bonus link:

• You can check out the most recent Caldecott listing from the official site hosted by the Association for Library Service to Children. 
• Be sure to check out the video from Candlewick about author David Ezra Stein. He explains his writing and creative process for the book. It's a great extension after sharing the story with students.

Mentor Text - Library Mouse: A Museum Adventure

Library Mouse: A Museum Adventure 
Written and Illustrated by Daniel Kirk
Abrams Books for Young Children, 2012

    Here is the newest addition to the Library Mouse series written and illustrated by Daniel Kirk. These are a few ideas on how you can use the book in an instructional manner. 

• Characters who read and write
• Characters who research and are curious learners
• Genre: a blend of fantasy and adventure
• 4th installment in the Library Mouse series from Daniel Kirk
• Compare and contrast to other books in the series
• Writing traits: ideas, sentence fluency 

Bonus links:

• You can let children explore some of the activities that are available on his official website.  One cute little extension for younger students is a printout of a "book" from Sam the mouse.

• Check out the official book trailer from Daniel Kirk on YouTube! You can show your students Daniel Kirk working on some of the illustrations and hear him explain a bit about Sam and Sarah's adventure in this book.  

Mentor Text: The Quiet Place

The Quiet Place
Written by Sarah Stewart and Illustrated by David Small
Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books, 2012
   
 Here is a wonderful mentor text entitled The Quiet Place that was published in September 2012 by the husband and wife duo of Sarah Stewart and David Small. Their previous collaborations include:

• The Gardener 
• The Library
• The Friend
• The Money Tree
• The Journey 

Here are just a few ideas for how to use The Quiet Place for teaching:

•  Character who writes
• Text is presented in a letter format
• Compare and contrast with The Gardener
• Inference: think about what the aunt's responses would be
• Main character - immigrant from Mexico
• Life Change - How is it dealt with?
• Writing traits: 
• voice
• presentation 

Bonus Link:
Here is a link to a interview with David Small and Sarah Stewart from Reading Rockets. You can also read the transcript for the interview via Reading Rocket's website.  

Mentor Text: Rocket Writes a Story

     Hello everyone! Over the upcoming weeks, I will be sharing books which I highlighted in a presentation in the fall at the Williamsburg Area Reading Council. I will first share some of the fiction selections. I will highlight some of my favorite nonfiction writers and great mentor texts in upcoming posts. :) Here is the first round of fiction texts that are wonderful mentor texts that can be used in many ways. I hope that you find some inspiration!

Rocket Writes a Story

Written and Illustrated by Tad Hills

Schwartz and Wade, 2012

• Highlight character traits of main character: How did the main characters act and why did they act that way?
• Character who reads and writes
• Life of a Writer: Working through the hard parts (writer's block)
• Writing Traits:
• ideas
• sentence fluency
• word choice
• presentation
• Sequel to the companion book How Rocket Learned to Read (Schwartz and Wade, 2010) 

Bonus links:

• You can check out the iPad app that Tad Hills created that is based on How Rocket Learned to Read. This app is an extension of the text that makes the book come alive.  
• This video about How Rocket Learned to Read is adorable! Be sure to watch it on YouTube.