Goodreads has some interesting information about the author. It indicates that Alexandra Day is the pseudonym for Sandra Louise Woodward Darling. Years ago when she was visiting Zurich, Switzerland, "she came across a volume of old German picture sheets, one of which featured a poodle playing with a baby who was supposed to be taking a nap. This image proved the inspiration for Good Dog, Carl. The Darlings' own dog, a Rottweiler named Toby, was the model for the book's main character. Since then, two other of the Darlings' dogs have posed as Carl in the seven sequels: the late Arambarri, who was named for one of the Darlings' favorite jai alai players; and Zabala, who currently moonlights as a therapy dog."
School Library Journal published an article about the value of wordless books that includes a list of popular titles.
What are some wordless books that you have used with good results in your libraries?
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| Alexandra Day and her Rottweiler |
Tuesday by David Wiesner was always fun to do with kids. Those frogs looked like they were having a good time. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love to use "Tuesday" also - I've wondered what his inspiration for that was. "Sector 7" and "Flotsam" were good, but did not have the same appeal to whole classes. I have also like to use "Just a dream" by VanAlsburg. And "The Arrival" by Say has been very popular as a checkout with the students.
ReplyDeleteOther popular ones that have worked both as read-alouds and as checked out books - with minimal words have been "Round Trip" by Jonas and "If..." by Perry.
I agree with Joseph and Linda M. David Wiesner's wordless books are my very most favorite. The kids like them too.
ReplyDeleteI adore wordless books! I did a lesson with all the 2nd grade classes, as a group we "read" Good Dog Carl. Students took turns telling us a page in story form. Then we split up into little groups with all the wordless books I could gather up. Students then reported back what their book was about. They totally got it, they are brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI haven't used wordless books much, but I remember a Children's Lit class where the instructor had us write the words to a wordless story. I still have mine. It goes with "Achoo" which is really old. Let's see, I was in school in 87'-88'. The illustrations were sort of Sendak ish. I tried looking online just now but didn't find it.
ReplyDeleteI have used The Arrival with my immigrant/outsider book talk. And "Tuesday" - how I want to be one of those frogs, flying on a lily pad!
ReplyDeleteThese comments reminded me of other books that I , or classroom teachers have used in the past . They are "Oops" and "Lights out" by Arthur Geisert. He has several others too. I just wish his pictures were a l;ittle more clear and a little larger. And I made a mistake earlier - "Arrival" is by Tan, not Say.
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