7 ATE 9: THE UNTOLD STORY

by Laura Gehl

7 Ate 9: The Untold Story, written by Tara Lazar and illustrated by Ross MacDonald, is a clever mystery and a great book to read aloud in your classroom.

After you read 7 Ate 9 to your students, you can use it as a fun writing prompt for the classroom. Here are a few writing suggestions:

1) The author, Tara Lazar, took an old joke (“Why is 6 afraid of 7?” “Because 7 ate/8 9!”) and turned it into the plot of a book. Can you take a joke and turn it into a story? Use one of these jokes, or any other joke you like:

-“Why did the chicken cross the road?” “To get to the other side!”

-“How do you catch a fish without a fishing rod?” “You use your BEAR hands!”

-“What is it called when a cat wins a dog show?” “A CAT-astrophe!”

2) This book is positively FILLED with puns and plays on words.

Here are just a few:

-Private “I”

-I orders a slice of “pi”

-7 is described as “odd”

How many other puns and plays on words can you find in this book? Check the illustrations too! Make a list as a class.

3) 7 Ate 9 is a mystery story. Try writing your own mystery story. Before you start writing, organize your thoughts. How does the mystery begin? Is there a missing person or item? Who will solve the mystery in your story? What clues can you sprinkle into your story so that the mystery can be solved?

4) Ross MacDonald managed to draw numbers in a way that gives each one lots of personality. You try! Draw a number and give it hands, feet, and a face, like in the book. You can add clothes or any other touches you like. Now write a few sentences describing the personality of your number. What foods and activities does your number like? Dislike? Who are your number’s friends? Does your number have a pet?

5) Write your own ending to 7 Ate 9. Instead of 9 turning out to be 6, and 6 trying to frame 7…what else could happen? You decide! Think of a different solution to the mystery and write it down.

www.lauragehl.com

WHAT IS NORMAL?

by Jacqueline Jules

Bullying is an ongoing problem in all schools. Taking a little time to write and think about what exactly is “normal” might go a long way to defuse the primary source of the issue. Students are bullied for being “different.” Yet the criteria for being “different” varies from one community to another. A child from Latin America may be considered “different” in a small town in the midwest. While a child from a farm might be misunderstood in a metropolitan city. Tara Lazar’s Normal Norman  can be a great discussion starter for this topic.

In this picture book, a child scientist tries to demonstrate how “normal” a purple orangutan named Norman is. Yet it turns out that Norman sleeps in a bed with a stuffed animal and likes pizza better than bananas. One revelation after another demonstrates that Norman’s behavior is not what is expected for an orangutan. The young scientist is distraught. Norman’s abnormally large heart and breezy acceptance of himself saves the day as the young scientist finally accepts that “normal” cannot be defined.

After reading Normal Norman, discuss why it is so difficult to define “normal.” Does everyone have the same body type, eating habits, or sleep patterns? Are members of the same family exactly the same? Would you even want them to be? Would you want to spend the day in a classroom of “normal” students exactly alike? Do a ten minute quick write. Can you describe what a typical school day would be like if everyone looked and behaved the same way? For added inspiration, you could read a short passage from A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle describing the planet where all the children behave in a mechanistic way, like robots.  

Next, provide your students with a dictionary definition of “normal,” meaning ordinary, standard, typical, etc. Contrast that to the definition of “unique” meaning unusual or special, unlike anything else. Ask your students to write a short essay on the topic. Would you prefer to be “normal” or “unique?” What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

What’s normal for one person or family does not suit another. We are indeed all different. Normal Norman celebrates individuality, an important topic to think and write about.

www.jacquelinejules.com

SHOP AT THE MONSTORE FOR HALLOWEEN

guest post by Tara Lazar

How would your students like to visit a store where they can buy any monster they please?

Crawl right this way, into The Monstore. (But you must know the secret knock and hand over a bag of squirmy worms, the monsters’ favorite treat.)

When I visit schools and book fairs, I hand out a coloring sheet, where the children can draw a monster of their imagination, one that performs snazzy tricks, like gobbling up a child’s gross uneaten dinner, or as one girl wrote, “shooting cupcakes from his feet.” You never know what the kids will come up with!

One of the most frequently asked questions at my book readings is, “When is The Monstore 2 coming out?” Yep, the book ends with a cliffhanger, and I’m not telling what happens next…

But that cliffhanger also creates a stepping stone to a fabulous writing prompt for young writers.

Read The Monstore and then ask the students:

·       What happens at The Monstore 2?

·       What kind of monsters can you buy?

·       What special talents do they have?

·       Who is the new Monstore Manager?

·       Is there a return policy?

·       Which monster gets sold first?

·       Who buys the first monster? And why?

·       Are the monsters happy or sad to be bought?

·       Do any adults find out about The Monstore 2?

Your class can even brainstorm questions to write about, plus students can use the sheet above to draw the monster they’d like to purchase.

I like to think that anything goes with this prompt—the monsters can do anything, the store can make any policy it chooses, and anyone can make a purchase, even with just a few pennies.

BIO: Street magic performer. Hog-calling champion. Award-winning ice sculptor. These are all things Tara Lazar has never been. Instead, she writes quirky, humorous picture books featuring magical places that adults never find. Her debut The Monstore was released in June 2013, with I Thought This Was a Bear Book and Little Red Gliding Hood to follow in 2015. Tara is also the founder of PiBoIdMo, Picture Book Idea Month, an annual online writing event for picture book authors and illustrators. There are writing tips, giveaways and book reviews galore at taralazar.com.