A Colorful Week in Library!
Crayons stole the show in last week's library classes - adding a *cough* colorful touch. Learners were treated to Michael Hall's funny, thought provoking, and uplifting crayon-centric stories, Frankencrayon and Red: A Crayon's Story.
In addition to being highly entertaining, Frankencrayon also happens to be one of the ten nominees for this year's Red Clover book award. For those of you keeping score at home, this was our third Red Clover read aloud of the school year. Learners loved how the crayons spoke directly to them, the audience. This clever construct led to a discussion on "breaking the fourth wall" - when actors, or characters, speak directly to their audience. After the story, learners were able to create their own paper Frankencrayons to keep!
While also starring crayons, Red: A Crayon's Story is delivered with a more serious and sincere tenor than Frankencrayon. Red, as his crayon label indicates, struggles to find his place as everything he colors comes out blue. His teacher, mother, grandparents, and even other art supplies (scissors, tape dispenser, etc) all attempt to intervene and help Red to no avail.
Red: A Crayon's Story provoked a discussion on symbolism, and how stories often contain a deeper meaning beyond the words and art in a particular book. One third grader said it best - reminding his class and me, "It doesn't matter what we look like on the outside. What really matters is who we are on the inside." Like the Grinch, my heart grew three sizes in that moment.
Curious what learners had to say about Frankencrayon? Give a listen to the latest RCR (link below).
In addition to being highly entertaining, Frankencrayon also happens to be one of the ten nominees for this year's Red Clover book award. For those of you keeping score at home, this was our third Red Clover read aloud of the school year. Learners loved how the crayons spoke directly to them, the audience. This clever construct led to a discussion on "breaking the fourth wall" - when actors, or characters, speak directly to their audience. After the story, learners were able to create their own paper Frankencrayons to keep!
While also starring crayons, Red: A Crayon's Story is delivered with a more serious and sincere tenor than Frankencrayon. Red, as his crayon label indicates, struggles to find his place as everything he colors comes out blue. His teacher, mother, grandparents, and even other art supplies (scissors, tape dispenser, etc) all attempt to intervene and help Red to no avail.
Red: A Crayon's Story provoked a discussion on symbolism, and how stories often contain a deeper meaning beyond the words and art in a particular book. One third grader said it best - reminding his class and me, "It doesn't matter what we look like on the outside. What really matters is who we are on the inside." Like the Grinch, my heart grew three sizes in that moment.
Curious what learners had to say about Frankencrayon? Give a listen to the latest RCR (link below).
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