John’s Turn by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Kate Berube was recently published. It’s a mentor text for being brave, taking risks, liking something different, and doing something in front of a large audience. I bet you can infer from the front cover what John shares with his whole school on a Friday morning. The illustrations are a mentor text for showing movement and emotions. We found a couple of pages interesting illustrative moves and wondered how Kate new when to zoom in and why.
My students thinking after reading offers additional insight.
- It’s about a boy who has stage fright and doesn’t want to perform. He does it anyways and feels good about it.
- This book reminds me Pink is for Boys. It also says boys can dance too.
- The story is heart warming. His friends clapped for him after being nervous earlier in the day.
- The message is boys can do whatever girls can do.
