Slice of Life: Day 7 - Celebrating This Book's Birthday Will Be a Gift For You #SOL22 #TWTBlog #IMWAYR
Are we there yet?
A new take on an age-old question. Climb On! written by Baptise Paul and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara will quickly work its way into the hearts of readers and become an old favorite in your classroom and home.
It has everything young readers love – repetition, humor, engaging illustrations, and a plot perfectly balanced with intrigue, predictability and a dash of surprise. Students commented on the short, quick sentence structure and how this set the mood for the text. They described the structure by moving their bodies side to side … I named that a seesaw structure. Mostly, they loved reading along, shouting advice to the characters, and connecting to moments in their own lives.
This text has so many opportunities to engage students in interpretive and analytical work. Just consider what the readers I shared it with noticed:
- It seems like the child is the one in charge. That is not what usually happens in stories.
- The child has to get the dad going.
- It reverses at the end.
- Now, the dad wants to have his time. He wants to be on the top with his child.
- The author is using more than one language.
- It sounds like a poem.
- I think for the dad it is about being with his child not the climb and it is about the climb for the child.
- I think it is about being together and nature.
- They like adventure – it looks like fun.
- It is about memories, that’s why it is ok that they forgot the camera.
- The pictures are in their hearts and minds.
- They take turns helping each other. That’s what families do.
It is also a great mentor text for elementary students. The illustrations help them think about perspective, point of view, action, structure and how media can add a layer of meaning to a story. I can’t wait until to buy multiple copies of Climb On! so students can study it and use it to try on different craft moves in their writing and drawing.
Just look at the details, action, and passage of time in this illustration!
You could study perspective and emotion in this illustration for days.
Students noticed that Baptiste Paul weaved two languages throughout the text. “Translanguaging is when a multilingual person’s full linguistic repertoire is used and honored, instead of trying to keep narrowly focused on a single language” (En Comunidad, Drs. Carla España and Luz Yadira Herrera). Students immediately wanted to know the meaning of these words. The text structure makes it easy for them to figure out the meaning. The author’s note and back of the book blurb provide more information about the author and the languages he uses in this text.
This text also sparks inquiry! The endnotes turn into a bit of an “eye spy” adventure. Many students wanted to learn more about these animals and decided to do a bit of research. I am looking forward to seeing the glossary of animals one group is creating as a resource to layer with this book.
Tomorrow we celebrate the book birthday for Climb On! Join me in celebrating by adding this one to your collection.
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum. Check out the writers, readers, and teachers here.
