| Booktalk
#1
Do you
remember moving into a new house when you were little? Do you remember
how you felt about moving from your familiar surroundings into a brand
new home in a brand new neighborhood? Children's author Tomie dePaola
certainly does. He tells the story of his family building a brand
new house. There are many obstacles to overcome along the way, including
the Hurricane of 1938 that almost took the half finished house. Through
it all, young Tomie and his family are determined to move into the house
at 26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE.
Booktalk
#2
I would start with questions
to peak the students interest. Have your parents ever built a home together?
Did everything go smoothly all of the time? What kinds of things
happened while they were building?
26 Fairmount Avenue is a short
story describing the year the authors family built a home in Connecticut
in 1938. Several disasters occurred like a hurricane, a brush fire,
and a flood. You will meet his family and friends and funny characters
like Nana Upstairs his grandmother. To see if his parents home gets
built you need to read 26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie DePaola.
The book is charming and funny
and includes holidays and events that lead up to the final moving day.
(Karen
Womack, graduate student, <kwomack7@yahoo.com>
)
Booktalk
#3
This chapter book deals with
the excitement of moving into a new house and the trials and happiness
that it involves. From the author's viewpoint, building a new house
is an exciting part of life. Set in the late 1930's, the book brings
out the culture of that era while telling the story about the DePaola family,
from viewing the new Disney film to how families interacted with each other
to everyday life, like going to school or celebrating holidays. Humor
makes this book interesting and the history is explained in plain terms
for the reader to understand and appreciate. ("Naomi Bates"
<mira93@yahoo.com>)
Booktalk #4
First, I would show illustrations
of a house being built and ask children what they think would be the first
thing to be built and why. Secondly, I would ask anybody if they
had ever moved into a new house and remembered what was going on during
that time. I would ask participants to tell me how they felt about
moving. Then I would ask them to tell me how they would feel moving
into a new house and neighborhood. What emotions would they feel?
How would they help their parents? An introduction to the book and
how the author shows all the aspects of moving with then follow.
("Naomi Bates" <mira93@yahoo.com>)
Booktalk #5
This past school year, the
2nd grade students were really into Tomie DePaola books. If I were
doing a booktalk to them, I would start by showing them a few of his books
that they've likely read. I would ask some questions. How old
do you think Tomie DePaola is? Do you think that Tomie DePaola was
ever a young child like you? What sorts of things do you think he
did when he was young? Do you think he did the same things that you
do? In 26 Fairmount Avenue, Tomie DePaola writes about when he was
a little boy living in Connecticut. He tells all sorts of funny stories
about his grandparents, starting kindergarten, going to the movies to see
Snow White, and also about the big hurricane that hit his town. Tomie
is very excited about moving into their new house on 26 Fairmount Avenue,
but all sorts of things happen that keep them from moving in, like the
big hurricane. If you want to find out if Tomie ever moves into their
new house, and read all of the other stories in this book, read 26 Fairmount
Avenue. (Gloria Sanchez gloriavs@aol.com)
Booktalk #6
Did you know that in the real
Snow White Story the Evil queen had to wear red hot shoes and danced herself
to death? Well, author-illustrator Tomie de Paola knew this when he was
only five years old. So when his mother took him to see the movie, Snow
White, he screamed to the entire movie audience that Mr. Walt Disney had
not read the book! 26 Fairmount Avenue is the first installment of an autobiography
written by Tomie de Paola about the year when he was between five and six
years old. This is the year the big hurricane blew into town and the year
his family built their new house on Fairmount Avenue. Nana Upstairs, Nana
Downstairs, Tom and all the characters that have appeared in so many of
Tomie de Paola's other books can be found in this very funny story. The
author won a Newbery Honor Medal for this book. (Jeannie Bellavance
bellavance@erols.com
for Pennsylvania
Young Reader's Choice Awards) |
