Let Me Finish!

At about 4 years old, my daughter started to ask me if we were in a book.  What an interesting question.  At almost 8 years old, she continues to get lost in books, is constantly connecting personal experiences to events in books, and must be reminded often to close the book and brush her teeth!  This love for books is something that we wish for all of our students.

At Nerd Camp this year I met Minh Lê, the author of Let Me Finish.  I realized this book was written for my daughter and all of the other children that we want to get "sucked" into books. This is Minh Lê's breakout book and my, oh, my...there is a lot that we (as teachers) can do with it!



In this book, a young boy is so excited to settle into a quiet spot to read but is quickly interrupted by some loud and rude animals.  Then he gets a brand new book in the mail and is determined to not let any animals ruin the book for him this time!  He runs around trying to ensure that the book is not spoiled!



I absolutely love the enthusiasm for reading that this young character has!  He desperately wants to read and needs a quiet place to do so.  I will not SPOIL the ending for you because this is a book that you will want to pick up!

This is a great book to kick off some conversations about quiet places to read at home or in other places around the community.  One image I found on Pinterest this week, illustrates this idea so well!


Original Source
After brainstorming and discussing some of their favorite spots to read, students can illustrate or write about some of these places.


https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B3eyEJCd5J5kN1V2UU8ybmJiWG8

Another conversation to have after this book can start with the question: "What book have you been "sucked" into?" or "What book would you like to jump into?"  This could be a great way to find out what books students are interested in.  Here is a sheet for students to record their thinking.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3eyEJCd5J5kQ2U5N1JENFRqc0k/view?usp=sharing

This sheet could also be used for students to recommend books to each other!  Please click on the image above to use it in your classroom.

Back to school books are a wonderful way to engage, get to know, and enjoy our students!  I hope you have a great start to your year!









2 comments

  1. Amazon here I come... I love the bulletin board idea. It would be a fun bulletin board to put pictures of the staff up reading in different places then replace with kids as they read in different places. I've had success with parents e-mailing me pictures (easy from their phones) then I print them to display.

    Amanda

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    1. Oh, I hope you like it!! We are going to take the same types of pictures to hang! I can't wait to give the book to Ruby. I know that she will love it!

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