Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters by Oliver Jeffers (Booktalk)

There has been a big secret which your parents and teachers have kept from you, but it just got leaked in this book. Did you know that each letter of the alphabet has a secret history, a secret tale? You thought the alphabet was boring: HA! Nope. But to keep you and all the other students of the world in line, they kept the secrets from you. I only have time to leak three of these stories.

Bob and Bernard are not buddies.

The letter B is all about battles and burning and Bernard and Bob. B is actually kind of an angry letter. Bernard and Bob cannot stand one another. They live on opposite sides of a bridge and have been battling each other for years. Bob burned the bridge and cannot get back!

H is sort of a scary, haunted letter. Helen lived in half a house. The other half of the house fell into the sea during a hurricane. Oh my gosh, I cannot bear to tell you what happened to Helen. It's too horrible.

O is full of wonder.

Owl and octopus

Out in the ocean there is an owl who lives on the back of an octopus. They search for a problem, solve it, and move on...

Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters by Oliver Jeffers. 2014: Philomel Books. Booktalk to K-3. Would make a great read-aloud or starting point for creative writing.

Book talk: Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2012-2013)

Did you look in the mirror this morning? Mirrors are funny. They show us a reversed image of ourselves. This book, Mirror Mirror, is all about reversals in fairy tales, a really fun topic, because reversals are everywhere in fairy tales: the poor, abused girl becomes the rich, beloved princess; the ugly duckling becomes the beautiful swan; the old crone becomes the young girl. There are reversals of appearance, of reality, and of good/evil.

"In the Hood," a reverso poem

But what if you made a poem, called a reverso, about this? Reversos are deceptively simple. I’m going to read you my favorite one. [Read your favorite reverso to the kids while showing them the accompanying picture: I like “In the Hood”]

[While explaining the reverso format, turn the pages so they can see others…] A reverso poem is like a puzzle: you read it, going down, as you would normally read. If you then took them bottom lines and put them at the top, reversing the order, you’re using exactly the same words but somehow, mysteriously, the meaning changes. Look carefully or you’ll miss it.

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Josee Masse. Dutton Children’s Books: 2010. Booktalk to elementary (I would use it for 1^st through 5^th). Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2012-2013.