Learning to Revise Our Thinking with the Help of the Piano Recital by Akiko Miyakoshi

I was so excited when I found this book at the Harvard Book Store one Sunday afternoon. It is a fantasy picture book that pushes students to reconsider their initial ideas and lift their thinking as they read. When I began reading this book to a group of fourth-graders, they had no trouble inferring how the main character was feeling at the beginning of the story.

Readers quickly understood that Momo was frightened to perform on stage.

However, when the main character, Momo is transported away from her piano recital to become part of the audience for the mouseling’s performance, students were surprised. They weren’t sure how to interpret this plot twist and consider how being part of an audience impacted Momo.

Momo’s feelings are unclear. Is she frightened or mesmerized by what she sees onstage?

After processing with their reading partners and some close study of the illustrations, these fourth graders came up with some new reflections and ideas. Here are their interpretations of the deeper meanings of this text.

This is the whole class notebook used during interactive read aloud.

I love the way this book encourages readers to revise their thinking. If your class studies fantasy or enjoys the unexpected, this is a book you will want to share with them.

Happy Reading, Everyone!