Defeating Goblins with Teamwork

In The Porridge Pot Goblin, siblings Benny and Rose are frightened by an invisible goblin, only known by his pranks and his tracks. They fear the goblin is too big for them to stop. But working together, Benny and Rose learn they are much braver than they think.

After reading The Porridge Pot Goblin aloud, have the class discuss how teamwork saved the day for Benny and Rose. If Benny had refused to help, do they think Rose could have trapped the goblin on her own? Did Benny’s presence make Rose bolder? What role did Benny play in how they ultimately handled the goblin?

Ask students to share a time when they worked with another person to overcome a challenge. Could they have solved the problem on their own? What are the advantages of joining forces? Are there disadvantages?

Writing Prompt: Write your own goblin story. Imagine the presence of an invisible spirit in your home. How would it make itself known? What tricks would it play? Would you try to trap it or make friends? Would you work alone or with someone’s help?   

Happy Writing!

Jacqueline Jules

I Call Dibs!

by Laura Gehl

Dibs, written by Laura Gehl and illustrated by Marcin Piwowarski, is the story of two brothers. Julian calls “dibs” so frequently that his baby brother Clancy ends up saying “dibs” as his very first word. Things get out of control when Clancy starts calling dibs on a bakery, an airplane, and even the White House! But when Clancy gets trapped in space, it is Julian who needs to harness the power of dibs to rescue his little brother.

 After reading Dibs out loud, try these writing activities with your students:

1. If you could call dibs on ANYTHING, the way Clancy does, what would you call dibs on? Why?

2. Julian gets frustrated when Clancy doesn’t follow the “rules” of Dibs. Even though these rules are not written down, most kids know you can call dibs on the biggest cookie but not on a whole bakery. You can call dibs on sitting in the window seat in an airplane, but you can’t call dibs on a whole airplane. Think about rules in your life. What rules at home or school do you wish you could break? What rules do you wish other people followed? Do you have a sibling, cousin, or friend who breaks rules? How do you feel about that when it happens?

3. Some kids who read the book Dibs already know the expression “calling dibs,” and some kids have never heard the expression before. Make a list of expressions that you know. Which of these expressions do you actually use when you talk to your friends?

4. Look at your list of expressions that you know from #3. Can you imagine how a kid could take one of those expressions too far, the way Clancy takes dibs too far in the book Dibs? How could you turn that into a story? For example, think about the expression “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” What if a kid decided that she would eat ten apples—or a hundred apples—or a thousand apples—every day so that she would never, ever get sick? And then she ate so many apples that it actually made her sick! Or maybe she turned into an apple and then her grandma wanted to turn her into apple pie! Take one of the expressions from your list and write a story in which a kid takes the expression too far.

  

Bio: Laura Gehl is the author of picture books including One Big Pair of Underwear (Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Title, International Literacy Association Honor Book, Booklist Books for Youth Editors’ Choice); Hare and Tortoise Race Across Israel, And Then Another Sheep Turned Up, and Koala Challah (all PJ Library selections); the Peep and Egg series (Parents’ Choice Recommendation, Amazon Editors’ Pick, Children’s Choice Book Award Finalist); My Pillow Keeps Moving (Junior Library Guild selection, NYPL Best Books of 2018 selection); and I Got a Chicken for my Birthday (Kirkus Best Picture Books of 2018 selection). 2019 releases include Except When They Don’t (Little Bee), Dibs! (Lerner), Juniper Kai: Super Spy (Two Lions); Judge Juliette (Sterling); Always Looking Up: A Story of Astronomer Nancy Grace Roman (Whitman); and the Baby Scientist series (HarperCollins). Laura lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with her husband and four children.  Visit her online at www.lauragehl.com.

Family Chores, Siblings, and Writing Fun

by Laura Gehl

My new book, Koala Challah, illustrated by Maria Mola, is about three sisters. The older two sisters have important jobs to help their family get ready for the holiday of Shabbat—the Jewish day of rest, which occurs each week and is a special time to enjoy being with family. Lila, the youngest sister, wants to help too. But every time Lila tries to help, she ends up making a gigantic mess!

This book can be used in the classroom to encourage your students to reflect and write.

After reading Koala Challah out loud, here are some activities to try:

1)    What jobs do you do every week, or every month, to help your family? Do you put away dishes? Feed pets? Take out the trash? Are there any jobs you would like to try? Have you ever tried to help out your family and then ended up causing more problems, like Lila?

2)    Lila is the youngest of three siblings. Do you have any siblings? If you have older siblings, are you jealous of how much they get to do, like Lila is in the book? If you have younger siblings, do you see them trying to copy you, like Lila does in the book? If you don’t have any siblings, how do you think that changes the way your parents treat you? Do your parents expect you to do more to help out, because you are the only kid? Do they play with you a lot, since you don’t have siblings to play with, or do they expect you to read books and find other ways to play independently?

3)    In Koala Challah, Lila shows a lot of persistence. She keeps trying to find a job to help her family. And after she settles on a job—baking challah—she keeps trying until she perfects her recipe. Can you think of a time you showed persistence in your own life? Did you keep trying and trying until you learned how to do the monkey bars on the playground? Did you keep working and working until you could shoot a basket, or solve a Rubix Cube? Write about a time you persisted until you accomplished your goal, or write about a goal you have and how you plan to be persistent until you accomplish it.

4)    In Koala Challah, Lila is helping her family get ready for the holiday of Shabbat. What holidays or rituals do you celebrate with your family? What is your favorite type of family celebration? How does your family prepare for this holiday or celebration? Do you have any special job to help your family get ready?

5)    Koalas live in the wild in Australia. Where do other animals live in the wild? Pick an animal and research where that animal lives in the wild. Or pick a country that you are interested in and research which animals live in the wild in that country.

6)    Challah is a braided bread that Jewish families eat on Shabbat. What are special foods for your family? Do you ever help make those foods? Would you like to try?

If your school allows students to bring in homemade food, encourage them to help make foods that are special to their families and then bring those foods in to school to share! Have a tasting day! If your school does not allow homemade food, students could still help make special foods at home and then bring in pictures and/or recipes.

www.lauragehl.com

Writing with The Maple book series

by Laura Gehl

The Maple books by Lori Nichols feature Maple, a nature-loving, spirited little girl, and her younger sister Willow.  The series begins with Maple, followed by Maple and Willow Together, and then Maple and Willow Apart.

The Maple books make a great writing prompt for the classroom.  After you read the books aloud, here are a few ways to use this heart-filled trio of picture books with your students:

1)    Which of the three books in the Maple series is your favorite?  Why?

2)    Maple and Willow are both named after trees.  What if you had to pick a name for yourself that is the name of a tree, flower, bird, or rock?  What name would you pick?  Why?  

3)    In Maple and Willow Together, Maple and Willow have a huge fight that starts over something silly—whether to keep their dandelions or blow the seeds.  Write about a time you had a fight with a friend or family member over something silly.  How did you work things out in the end?

4)    In Maple and Willow Apart, Maple and Willow figure out a way to stay connected even when Maple is at school and Willow is at home: Maple carries an acorn from Willow with her to school.  Think about someone you love who lives in a different city or state—a grandparent, a cousin, or maybe a friend who has moved away.  How do you stay connected to this person when you can’t be in the same place?

The Maple books are about sisters, but they resonate with every reader, whether the child has a sister or not.  This is because these books touch on essential truths of every relationship, showing how our important relationships grow and change over time, that there are always bumps along the way, and that we can find ways to stay close to people we love even when we can’t be with them all the time.

www.lauragehl.com