I walked into this bookstore, skeptical about what I might find because there weren’t any children’s books in the window. Now, I should know never to judge something at first glance. The entire back room of this store is devoted to a lovingly curated collection of books for children. I was lucky to be the only patron in the children’s section, so I got a chance to read several books and I left with my next stack.
In this book, Bear is grumpy about the rain until he is persuaded to try his friend Moose’s hula hoop. Once this happens, his mood and perspective change. This beautiful book by Abi Cushman is all about re-evaluating the situation around you to find joy. And besides, kids will laugh at the hula-hooping Moose, and perhaps he will inspire them to give hula hooping (give the hula hoop a try ) a try. Hula-Hooping is an approved activity during COVID.
I typically steer away from rhyming poetry when I select mentor texts for young writers because I worry that younger writers will focus on rhyming rather than creating meaningful texts. But, I made an exception for this text. The repetitive refrain in this book simply cries out for kids to write their own. Just listen to the hopefulness in these lines.
Tomorrow most likely, there will be…
Tomorrow most likely, you could…
Tomorrow most likely, you might…
It begs for students to craft their thoughts and dreams about the world they want to create.
A BIG Thank you to Cannon Beach Book Store. I am sorry I judged your collection by your window display – lesson learned.
Love that you are weaving bookstore visits into your grand adventure!