FIELD TRIPS? This One STINKS!

In case you missed it, take a look soon at a delightful back-to-school book. Author Becky Scharnhorst and illustrator Julia Patton produced a laugh-out loud picture book in summer, 2021, just in time for September sharing: MY SCHOOL STINKS, reviewed HERE. In that original work there were so many things to love: a dear diary text format, a nervous/anxious new student, and the consequences of one wrong turn leading that young student into WILDWOOD ELEMENTARY (populated with incredibly appealing animals). The humor and characters were the stars, but the underlying theme was equally powerful- giving new/strange individuals a chance can prove to be worthwhile.

FLAMINGO BOOKS (PRH), 2022)

Now, just a year later, the crew is back in THIS FIELD TRIP STINKS by the same creative pair. My years of teaching experience were activated when reading this.  Field trips early in the school year can be challenging but valuable, because it is an outdoor setting, is timed for a study unit, and can serve as a bonding experience. 

DING! DING! DING!

This fits all three typical September school field trip experiences, including some class members who are NOT feeling excited about the risks such as event might entail. In this case, our nervous character continues his personal approach to mitigating his nerves by writing. In this case, his writing forms field notes for each step along the paths they explore and each problem encountered. 

The teacher, Mr. Grizzly, is back, along with the other classroom critters, complete with their humor and typical/species traits that provide subtle learning asides. Crocodile sidekick Charlie is a loyal and reassuring presence. I especially enjoyed the plot line, offering several foundational aspects to an otherwise light and laughable text. The contrast of nerves and confidence among the students allows for some early reading explorations of character traits, and Mr. Grizzly's blunder sets the stage for an unexpected rescue by the timid protagonist. I really enjoy it when a teacher's fumble is featured in a picture book. Kids will delight in finding  countless visual asides, too, reflecting various animal instincts.

In this title the original cautious personality is expanded and shows some growth, but also reflects the prior book's indication of directional confusion. Along with the use of diary/field notes to dissipate anxiety, his documentation provides a map for saving the day! The content is a just-right amount of story and detail for young readers to be able to generate a story map of key events and problem solving, as well as predicting,.

There are so many ways in which this title, used alone or in combination with the original title, can serve as mentor text and as templates for diary writing, field notes, mapping, and word play. I very much encourage sharing these books for the simple fun they provide, but also for returning to in future for craft discussions and for science and friendship themes.

LAST CALL: Back to School with HUMOR and Deep Thoughts

 By today, the day after Labor Day, the last of the holdout schools will be back in session, even though many others have been whirring along since early August. These two picture books have in common that they will fit right into early days/weeks of classroom communities, one with humor and one with reflection about how and where we learn. 

Philomel Books. July, 2021

MY SCHOL STINKS! is cleverly written in first person diary format by Becky Scharnhorst and illustrated with delightful detail by Julia Patton. 

This is a laugh-inducing premise, involving a tentative and nervous student, struggling to be brave and prepared for a first day at a NEW school. Incorporating advice from parents that, while valid, prove unsuccessful (deep breaths, think happy thoughts). 

The illustrations are jam-packed with hints and giggles, demanding a close look on the first read but promising and delivering) even more surprises on return reads. In opening spreads our little bespectacled student draws a map that foreshadows the wrong turn that launches this surprisingly exciting and stinky school experience. With frequent word play, alphabet-linked characters like Charlie Crocodile (with enormous teeth), Betsy Beaver (who chews pencils) and George Gorilla (who picks nits), this diary-driven account of first schools days reveal the ways figurative language can be confusing. Reporting to parents that new classmates are wild animals does not elicit sympathy, since all kids are wild animals, right? 

There's humor-aplenty, and layers of details that will serve to spark discussions about fears/anxiety (deep breaths), making friends, and not judging others based on first looks or assumptions. The twist at the end is a delight and will leave more than a few adults nodding and blushing at themselves. 

TUNDRA BOOKS, 2021

Moving on from fiction/fantasy/humor to a nonfiction/reflective profile of an incident with the  daughter of Charles Darwin, this story travels back more than a hundred years and invites readers to share their walk  on the OVAL THINKING PATH that Darwin developed on his property. ETTY DARWIN and the FOUR PEBBLE PROBLEM is written and illustrated by Lauren Soloy. With earth-toned illustrations and a spotlight firmly fixed on young Etty, they tavel the thinking path to consider various questions. Among them is Etty's question about fairies. It's no surprise that Darwin, always a scientist, expects proof, while Etty wonders if the burden of proof should be on disproving their existence. 

This lovely father-daughter exchange and inquiry offers entertainment and enjoyment, In addition, it is a subtle feast for the eyes, suggesting appreciation for the many ways in which Darwin used observation to build his theories and draw his conclusions. Etty's attention, intellectual debate, and appreciation for her/their relative roles within the larger lives of planet Earth model an inquiry approach to learning. A short author note in back extends the experience by describing the roles Etty assumed as an adult who worked closely with her father in his writing and scientific studies, even though that was a rarity for women in the mid-19th century.

 Besides genre and era, there are multiple ways to contrast and connect these two books. In the first, the animals in school are frightening and fanciful, while the Darwins' walk inserts this gentle pair into nature itself, welcoming an opportunity to think among the critters who reside there. The first title is clearly fanciful while the second feels familiar and focused. the first reveals the story in a journal/diary writing style while the second is written in direct narrative voices. Both are styles of writing offering mentor texts for students own literary craft and growth. Last,  but not least, one is set in a classroom while the other is an example of home-based schooling, an apt comparison for the many students who have experienced both actress the span of a pandemic.

I encourage sharing these two titles in classrooms and homes, whether this is a first week of school or you are already heading into the second month of the school year. There's plenty to enjoy and learn from in each, and even more when they are shared/compared together.