Robert Munsch

I love to find books that are truly great. My favorite kinds with kids are funny without being obvious. Not the kind that are like, "hey, didja get it? This is funny BECAUSE..." I like kids to have to be smart enough to get it. I ALSO love when kids learn about all the books one author has written. I like when they say, "oh that's a book by..."

One of my favorite authors that satisfies both truly great books AND has written lots is Robert Munsch. Kids like his name and his stories help me teach great writing and story telling.

I start with a book like Mortimer.

This book is awesome because it tells the story of Mortimer who sings at the top of his lungs in bed every time anyone goes downstairs. It is great for generating lots of good journal stories about their night time antics.

In Murmel, Murmel, Murmel, a five year old girl named Robin finds a baby in a hole. The funny part is that while she tries to see if anyone wants a baby, she never questions why the baby was in the hole or if it is anyone's baby. It's very Kindergarten or First Grade thinking. They never question it either.

Finally...

In this book, a "dark" wanders around eating shadows and growing bigger until a little girl traps him and ships him off with the trash guy. It's great for empowering kids to put away their fears.

Mostly I just use these books as talking points and looking at writing from a writer's perspective.