Developing Better Readers and Writers Using Caldecott Books (review)

More than fifty lesson plans based on Caldecott medal or honor books help K-12 students move from reading someone else's work to creating their own. Lessons (each matched with NCTE/IRA standards for English Language Arts and AASL/AECT standards for Information Literacy) are grouped into eight genres (realistic fiction, historical fiction, traditional literature, poetry, fantasy, informational nonfiction, memoirs/autobiographies/biographies, diaries and letters), and they also include websites and books for teachers and librarians, parents and caregivers. Matthew provides separate author/illustrator, title and subject indices, and a short essay on writing workshops that helps explain her approach to the material. The strengths of this offering are the thirty blackline masters (from story maps to character charts) and short sidebars that bring authors and illustrators to life: students will learn that Mirette's walk on the high wire is a metaphor for author McCully's feelings about writing, and that author/illustrator Zelinsky's preschool drawings included geishas driving tractors. There are a few weaknesses—for example, the majority of the activities focus on text rather than the artwork/illustration for which the Caldecott was awarded, and some lessons are designated as appropriate for a range as broad as grades 4-12 without indication of different approaches within such a wide spread. Nonetheless, this is a solid educational resource; picture books have long been valued by those working with ESL students or students reading below grade level, and Matthew's spotlight on Caldecott books provides an introduction to these gems for students who may have missed them the first time around.