On Friday, we had the two authors of Pete the Popcorn visit our school! Although I had never heard of the book beforehand, we are always honored to have authors come visit and talk. As most author visits go, the students really enjoy hearing from "real" authors and seeing that authors are just like us. They are able to ask questions, see the writing and illustrating process, and see how a thought becomes a book.
Our visit from Joe and Nick, the authors, wasn't only about their road to becoming an author and the writing process, but more about the message behind the book! The character, Pete, is a popcorn kernel who wants to be popped some day and eaten. The lesson is that through encouragement of others, we can all "pop" and become whoever we want to be. It can fit in with any anti-bullying unit, too! To make their visit even better, in their 4th and 5th grade presentation, they called up a pretty "cool" 4th grade boy and asked him to call someone else up to give this person a compliment and encourage them. Unknown to the authors, the boy picked a girl with special needs who has always struggled making friends and hasn't had many peer encouragers. For her to go up in front of all of our 4th and 5th graders and see this boy give her a compliment brought tears to many teachers' eyes.
The authors also use alliteration throughout the whole book. I can imagine the repeated readings and mini-lessons that this book could bring into a classroom! They've already started writing more books that have encouraging themes and lessons as well. It's definitely a book with multiple uses in any elementary classroom!
TpT Sale
It's the last day of my celebratory TpT Sale! 20% off of all products for my 1 year TpT anniversary. Enjoy!
You can even come visit and check out some of my freebies! The one below is a customer favorite, and easy to use! Download it today and use later.
Enjoy your weekends! I'll be back on Wednesday for a great 10-10 challenge! Not sure what 10-10 is? You'll have to wait. :)
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