Order may come in multiple shipments, however you will only be charged a flat fee.Ģ-10 days after all items have arrived in the warehouse Kirk has carefully hidden Sam in every one.Items in order will be sent as soon as they arrive in the warehouse.

When a 2nd grade student, Jesse, pointed out that Sam is in the illustrations when the library is open, I studied every illustration in both books to see for myself. Sam is said to only come out at night when the library is closed. The fact that Sam remembers Tom as a regular contradicts how Sam is described in the first story.

Tom doesn't have a partner, so Sam winds up illustrating his story, because after reading it, he recognizes Tom as a regular at the library. Tom discovers Sam's identity, but proves himself a true friend when he does not reveal the truth. Jiles), assigns the students in her Writers & Illustrators Club to write and illustrate a book in teams of two. One of the best words to describe Sam is shy, but in book 2 he develops a friendship with Tom after he learns that Sam is a mouse living in the library. Because the illustrations are very important to the story, I make sure to hold the book up so all the students can see every page. I explain what that means and write 'tale' and 'tail' on the Simplicity Touch interactive smart board. Even with the youngest students, I point out that the word 'tale' in the title is a homophone. Library Mouse: A Friend's Tale is the story used for Lesson 2. They are not only recounting key details, but also tying them in with the illustrations. This has turned out to be a terrific form of assessment because I am always amazed at how much these children remember. After brief research, I ordered the entire Library Mouse series and got to work. Īt the beginning of every new lesson, I ask the students to raise their hands if they would like to tell me what story we read last week and/or anything about the lesson. I immediately knew this story was going to be by my side for a while. Second, I read The Library Mouse, written and illustrated by Daniel Kirk. Their students needed a push in those areas. Van Matre (2nd), discussed with me how their students needed to incorporate more writing and grammar into their lessons. It would take the perfect story to motivate everyone.Ī few weeks ago, two things happened that brought the thought back to the forefront of my brain. As the weeks moved on, it stayed in the back of my mind, but I never found the time to actually sit down and develop anything. I have not stopped thinking about how much fun it would be to design a 4-8 week lesson, adapted specifically for every grade level and student ability, that ends with students writing and illustrating their own stories. Spending the day with author/illustrator, Brian Lies, last October, got my creative juices flowing.

Library mouse a friend's tale