The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School by Laura Murray

I must say, this third book is my favorite graphic novel thus far.  The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School by Laura Murray takes the graphic novel to a whole new level.  This story is a twist on the classic Gingerbread Man story.  Check out this promo trailer designed by librarian, children's book editor, and blogger, Carter Higgins.

Laura Murray's incorporation of rhyme appeals to the elementary-aged reader.  Drawing from an activity she did with her own classes, Murray's Gingerbread Man is created by students and is left in the classroom to cool.  But, Gingerbread Man, thinking he has been left behind, journeys through the school in search of the young bakers.  Rather than the traditional repeated line "Run, run as fast as you can.  You can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man." the protagonist proclaims he is trying to catch the class.  This story would be a perfect conclusion to a gingerbread man unit in any primary classroom.  Laura Murray being the teacher that she is, has created an ellaborate unit for teachers.  Check it out!  She has provided oodles of extension activities, suggestions for using the text, and even a recipe if you'd like to make your own gingerbread man.  

Vocabulary: ingredients, complete, announce, "tough cookie," "smart cookie," handrail, spectacular, belong

Close Reading Questions:
From the other stories you have heard about the gingerbread man, what do you think will happen now? p. 7
How could the nurse fix him? p. 12
Where is the gingerbread man?  p. 19
Were we right about our prediction?  p. 21
These pages have a lot of action words or verbs.  Let's list them. p. 24-25
How did the gingerbread man know he was wanted and not forgotten by the class? p. 31
How is the pattern of this story different than The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth? end

Benny and Penny in The Big No-No! by Geoffrey Hayes

I choose to start with Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! because it won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award in 2010.  The first thing I noticed were the adorable illustrations!  A far cry from the Anime that kind of turns me off. 



How cute are they?!


I found that the story line about Benny and his little sister Penny was perfect for young readers!  A new neighbor moves in next door.  There is a misunderstanding but in the end the readers see Benny and Penny making a new friend.  The dialogue was pretty basic but there was age-appropriate mystery, drama, and humor that would surely capture the attention of pre-schoolers, kindergarteners, first graders, and some second graders.

Vocabulary: pail, mud pies, and various onomatopoeias (splop, yeow, etc.)

Close Reading Comprehension Questions:
Why do you think Benny hopes the new kid is a boy? p. 7
Why does Penny hope its a girl? p. 7
What do you suppose made those footprints? p. 11
How could Benny's pail have gotten into the other yard? p. 14
What do we know about the new girl? p. 22
How do we know the new girl didn't take Benny's pail? p. 23
What would you do if you were Benny? p. 25

I created a readers theatre script from the book.  With the many benefits of readers theatre, fluency, comprehension, and motivation, to name a few, I decided this would be the perfect use of the text. I actually got the idea to transform a graphic novel into a readers theatre script as a means to increase fluency.  Check out Terry Thompson's book Adventures in Graphica for more awesome ideas about using graphic novels.  Anyway, I take no credit for the script material including dialogue.  Geoffrey Hayes wrote it! I just turned it into a script.  I'm really hoping to use this next spring with some of my kindergarteners.  Feel free to try it also!  Let me know if your students enjoy it!

Overall, I found the story engaging.  I know that many kids are being motivated to read through the medium of graphic novels.  So, I'll embrace them!  Though the dialogue may seem simple at times, it is perfect for emergent readers and very young listeners.  I would recommend Benny and Penny in The Big No-No! to both readers and primary teachers.