Without further ado, may I present our...
OVERALL TEAM BEST
It's unanimous! We all chose After the Fall as our top pick due to the fresh, unexpected, masterful content. With most fractured tales being humorous, we were not expecting to crack open a layered, emotional, theme-packed tale. A huge dose of perspective and scale increases the interplay impact. On almost every page, there are bird images foreshadowing what is to come. To top it all off, this mentor text infuses an amazing surprise ending!
Life by Cynthia Rylant and Brendan Wenzel
Concept Book + Bibliotherapy = Fresh. Life packs a punch using sparse texts and layers. This one had me thinking about it long after I walked away; mainly about gratitude and getting through life’s struggles and chalking them up to something that will change (something our world desperately NEEDS right now!) And yet, the theme still has an underlying quality because of stellar interplay between the text and soft nature illustrations. Wenzel's animal characters are tender-hearted and relatable.
Not Quite Narwal by Jessie Sima
This story is beautifully illustrated with clever
text. It's the perfect story to evoke discussion on what it means to be
different and how to find your place in the world. This is a great mentor
text for making a point without being didactic. The story makes it clear that
differences are wonderful without making us feel like it's a teaching moment.
Janie's Best
The story of Harriet Tubman starts at the end of her life and moves to
her childhood using the phrase “Before she was…" The author also uses a
list format to sum up the circular story and return the reader to where the story
started. I enjoyed the free verse style.
Keila's Best
Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai and Kerascoët
This book is an excellent example of how to tell a difficult
story to a young audience. Malala uses her memory of a magic pencil to
introduce children to hope in a story that includes despair and violence.
And the illustrations are magical.
Furthering our tradition, we take leave for a holiday break with our families. We'll resume our regular posting schedule on January 2 and it won't be long until the 4th annual ReFoReMo challenge. We have an excellent team of presenters lined up, so stay tuned for announcements in the new year.
Which 2017 mentor texts did you learn most from this year?
May all of your 2018 writing goals come to fruition!
Carrie, Kirsti, Janie, & Keila
Your Reading for Research Blog Team
Thank you all for another great year. You spur on my learning and I was honored to post for ReFo this year. Thank you for all you do for the kidlit community! Have a wonderful holiday!
ReplyDeleteSo sweet, Kathy! Happy to be of service and to have you as part of our community!
DeleteWhat a wonderful post, and what a wonderful group. My school libraian thanks you too since I keep telling her about books I've encountered in this group. Thank you, and Happy Everything!
ReplyDeleteHooray for librarians! Thanks for being an active part of our group, Ellen!
DeleteI learned the most from Cloth Lullaby and The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles because I was working on lyricism. They are both brilliantly written.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Megan, and congrats on finding helpful mentor texts!
DeleteI'm not sure which ones I learned most from, but I'd also like to echo my love for After the Fall--what an amazing book. (I also liked it much better than Beekle).
ReplyDeleteThe best mentor text for me.this year is Dazzle Ships. It was very helpful with ideas for my NF PB.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Thanks, Maria!
DeleteLove your list! I've read so many great books this year. And I've learned something from each one...Uni the Unicorn (#1) stuck out to me because the author wrote the fairy tale story from the other side of the fence (Uni's point of view, instead of a human wondering if unicorns are real). I need to remember to look at the opposite side of my ideas, to see if that is where the interesting tale is to be found.
ReplyDeleteCool perspective, Angie! Thanks for sharing your most helpful mentor text!
DeleteGreat list of favorites- thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAlways appreciate the books you recommend. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI actually won the book Not Quite Norwal which was awsome. I love that book. Thank you for all the time you take to run ReFoReMo. It helps immensely.
ReplyDeleteThank you ladies for a great year of research and learning experience. Best wishes for 2018.
ReplyDeleteThank you ladies for a great year of research and learning experience. Best wishes for 2018.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, nice post! Post really provice useful information!
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