Author Study

 The author our class will be focusing on this month is Jacqueline Woodson.  We have already read two of her picture books.  

The first one we read at morning gathering,  Each Kindness.  A teacher has a class drop a pebble in the water and watch the ripples.  She says kindness works the same way.  The main character, Chloe, realizes that she has not been kind to one of the other girls in her class.

After reading the story one child exclaimed, "that was really sad"  and another children said, "will you read it again?".  This book does not wrap things up in a neat package with a happy ending, which lead to both of the immediate reactions by the children.

So later that morning I read it again.



Pecan Pie Baby is the second book we read by Ms Woodson.  In this story, Gia's mother is expecting a baby and Gia has strong feelings about that "ding dang baby" coming to share her mother's attention.  The children thought the "ding dang baby" expression was hilarious.


Jacqueline Woodson writes a wide range of poignant books for children of all ages.  If you venture past her picture books, be aware that many of her stories are for a teenage audience.  (We will not be reading these in class.)