Waiting

                                                            Waiting

Lexile Level: 260L (Ages 5-8)

            This book by Kevin Henkes is about animals looking out the window waiting for various things such as snow, the moon, or rain. The book describes how the animals feel when what they want comes around. For example, the animals become happy when the moon comes out.

Is this a good story?        I think this is a really great story for students to read. The pictures in the story show so much emotion, but are very simple as well.
The book introduces new characters coming and leaving, but the five main characters stay there waiting.
What did the author want to tell me in this story? Were the themes worthwhile?
        I think the theme of the story is to be patient.  I  think this theme is very worthwhile especially to younger students.
Are the characters portrayed as individuals? Or as groups?
        The characters in the book are portrayed as a group. They have individual wants and needs, but they are always shown as a group with five of them. Sometimes they have new comers, and sometimes they leave, but the group of five always stay together.
            The illustration tells the story perfectly. Some pages in the book do not even have words on it, they only rely on the pictures to showcase the book. I would do a picture walk before introducing the words in the text. I would have the students tell me what’s happening in each page. The students will have a better understanding of the text through the illustration.

            The book can be used to show personification, because the animals have feelings, and their waiting, or sleeping. I think this book would be great to show personification and help students develop their writing. The story shows the characters waiting for what they desire, and when they get that it shows their reaction. The book also has really great description words like “The owl with the spots.” 
            Before reading the book or doing a picture walk I would have the prompt “What are you waiting for?” on the board. The student will then write a one sentence response such as “I’m waiting for summer” or “I’m waiting for school to end”. The student then can share their response to the class. We will then engage in a picture walk, and then move on to reading the text. After we finish the book the student will be expected to add details to their sentences like Henkes did. Their sentence could look like, “The girl with the long hair is waiting for summer. When summer came the girl with the long hair was excited.”

Citation:
Henkes, K. 2015. Waiting. Greenwillow Books.