Julius Baby of
the World by Kevin Henkes
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Not only is it hilarious, students can see how Lily goes from thinking her brother is "disgusting" to being fiercely protective of him. And of course, kids can make lots of connections to this book!Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch
Here is a summary:
The
main character in the picture book is a very lonely man, Mr. Hatch. The story
begins with a description of Mr. Hatch's lonely daily life. He lives alone,
barely knows or talks to anyone, works all day in a shoelace factory, buys a
fresh turkey wing for supper each day, eats, takes a shower, and goes to bed.
In his neighborhood and at work people say the same thing about Mr. Hatch,
"He keeps to himself." Mr. Hatch's loneliness is illustrated with
drab colors and by the way in which the artist depicts him: shoulders slumped,
head down, manner subdued.
All of
this changes when the postman brings Mr. Hatch a huge, heart shaped box of
chocolates along with a card that says, "Somebody loves you." Mr.
Hatch is so happy he does a little dance. Because he thinks he might meet his
secret admirer, Mr. Hatch puts on a colorful tie and some old aftershave. He
takes the box of chocolates to work to share. He even talks to Mr. Smith
at his newspaper stand, notices he looks sick, and offers to watch the
newsstand while Mr. Smith goes to the doctor's office. Mr. Hatch continues to
talk to others, to help those in need, and to share with his neighbors. In
fact, Mr. Hatch bakes brownies and holds an impromptu picnic for his neighbors
at which he plays his old harmonica for them. His neighbors enjoy being with
Mr. Hatch and like him very much. The more Mr. Hatch is friendly and kind to
his neighbors, the more they reciprocate. When the postman tells Mr. Hatch
that the candy had been delivered to his house by mistake and that he doesn't
have a secret admirer, Mr. Hatch becomes withdrawn again. The postman tells the
neighbors what has happened. The neighbors get together and throw a big
surprise party for Mr. Hatch, complete with candy, a new harmonica, and a big
sign that said, "Everybody loves Mr. Hatch."
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And last, but of course NOT least, I always always always use
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| Yes, I use the Little Golden Book version, (I still have mine from when I was a kid) because it is short enough to read in one mini-lesson but I have several version to choose from. :) For more info on how to use this timeless story, see this post!
Those are my go-to books for characters but there are sooo many more I love to use too! Can't wait to see what everyone else has been using!
-Caitlin
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