Let’s Talk About Books! {linky and freebie all in one}

That might just be about my most favorite kind of chat.

I am a bit Amazon obsessed. If I see a book that looks good or I need one for a lesson, I just click it and it magically appears at my door two days later. Prime is going to be the demise of my bank account.

I did a huge Oliver Jeffers study at the end of the school year this year. I don’t feel like I had adequate blog time for it with all of the other crazy things that were happening that last week and a half. I can tell you, I will never miss an Oliver Jeffers study again. The kids l.o.v.e.d his books. He’s young and quirky and I feel like of all the authors that we studied this year, they got him. They thought he was funny and loved his accent.

Students need to be exposed to literature outside of the United States. Julia Donaldson {The Gruffalo} is another author that is Dr. Seuss status in Europe. I got a book of hers titled “What the Ladybird Heard” which is a story of a ladybug, but in England they call them “ladybirds”. It just opens up an entire discussion that would not have happened had I not traveled back with those books!

I discovered his books last summer in London because a girl working at the store was American. She was the perfect person to help me with, “What are some books that are popular here that aren’t so well known in the states.” Well, since she was from America and worked in a bookstore in England…she kind of knew what she was talking about.

Oliver Jeffers is from Ireland and is very popular in Europe. I fell in love with his books when I sat on the floor of the bookstore that day in London. His books typically have a lesson to teach and they are extremely witty. He also has a ton of videos on YouTube where you can listen to him read his books. We went a little Oliver Jeffers crazy at the end of the week!

Now that I have taken you on a huge random loop, let me bring you back to the book.

It is a story of a boy and a martian that get stuck on the moon. It is full of vivid imagery and rich language. There is also some carry over with characters from his other books. There are many activities that you can do with this book. You can compare the boy and the martian with a Venn, write about the two characters meeting somewhere different, or have them oompare the boy in this story with his similar character in other stories.

This was the response that we did after we read it.

I could go on and on about his books all day long! You can get “The Way Back Home on Amazon” for $4 in paperback or $13 in hardback.

My collection is still growing but I hope to have all of his books by the end of the summer! If you want to grab the book, here is the activity that we do to go along with it.

If you come super obsessed…like me. I have an entire unit filled up with activities to go along with his books!

Happy Reading!