Spot the Plot

November 1, 2009
K-Gr 2-Short poetic riddles are presented on spreads, each providing the clues in both text and illustrations of the plot of a well-known children's story. Two young detectives and their dog are looking at such activities as farm animals typing letters in a field ("Click, Clack, Moo"), a train running along snowy railway tracks ("The Polar Express"), or a pumpkin coach careening along as it's drawn by a bunch of rats ("Cinderella"). There should be little problem coming up with the answers; in fact, many youngsters should be able to solve the riddles through the illustrations alone. The poems are presented in different layouts and are of different lengths, preventing a formulaic feel. Describing "Charlotte's Web" ("A magical telling, /a pig for the selling, /a spider is spelling/out words that amaze") looks much different from the clues for "Rapunzel" ("Her hair's the stairs"). This book is perfect for an interactive read-aloud, especially if the illustrations are held back until after the text has been read. Pair it with other book-, library-, or school-related poetry such as Lewis's "Please Bury Me in the Library" (Houghton, 2005) and Carol Diggory Shields's "Lunch Money and Other Poems About School" (Dutton, 1995)."Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City"

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