Let's go for a ride

Willems, M. (2012). Let's Go for a Drive "An Elephant and Piggie book" (First ed.). New York, New York: Hyperion Books for children.

ISBN 978-142316482-1

The book Let’s Go for a Drive by Mo Willems is a tale about Elephant Gerald and his friend Piggie. Gerald and Piggie want to go for a drive, so Gerald thinks of all the things that they should bring on their drive, while Piggie gathers the items. Until they realized they do not have the most important item.

I would use this book for three to five- year olds because of the simple language, which is perfect for the children’s comprehension skills. I would also use this book for three to five year olds because of how there is only a few words on each page, which really helps engage the children more in the illustrations and the story itself then the words on the page. This book is also great because the story line follows a repetitive sequence. This will help the children remember the story and the order of the story. This story is also humorous which is a great way to connect with the children's humorous side. If the children can feel emotion from reading a story they will be able to relate in a personal way.

This story uses simple hand drawn illustrations. Mo Willems has also drawn the character with recognizable expression, which both teachers and children will be able to understand.  I believe that children would enjoy these illustrations because they are easy to relate to. As the children read the book they would be able to copy the expressions the characters make, as they are expressions the children have probably seen before. I was drawn to these illustrations for their simple but fun concept. I also loved how the illustrator added facial expressions to each character, even though they were simple expressions they enhanced the story.

Provocations:

My provocation for Lets Go For a Drive would be to make a life size cut out of a car. I would make the life size cut out of the car functional so that the children would be able to sit inside the car and pretend they are driving the car.  I would also paint the car as it is seen in the book. This way when I read the book to the children the children will be able to make the connection between my life size car and the car in the book. I might also ask the children questions about where they have driven in a car before as they play with the life size car. By getting the children to think about  their own personal experiences of being in a car, will make presenting this story more relatable and personal to each child.

Four ways you might present the book

1. Felt story: For this story I would have felt pieces for a pig, elephant, map, car, sunglasses, umbrella, suitcase and pirate items (e.g. eye patch and sword). As I told the story and each item was introduced I would place the item on the felt board, incorporating it into the story along with the other felt pieces.

2.  Prop story:  For the prop story, I would use a stuffed animal pig and elephant to represent the main characters. I would also have a pair of sunglasses, a map, a toy car, suitcase or bag, umbrella and pirate items (e.g. eye patch and sword). All of my prop items would be hidden in a box, so that they are a surprise to the children until they are reveled.

3. Close line story: For a close line story I will have images printed and laminated of all the characters and props (map, car, sunglasses, umbrella, suitcase and pirate items) I would present this story by attaching a large piece of yarn across the length of a while board. All my laminated pictures as they are introduced would be pinned with close pegs to the yarn. As the story progresses I would move the pictures down the yarn.  Once I have told this story several times and the children are familiar with it I might ask the children to place the pictures on the close pegs as I tell the story.

4. Shadow story: For this story, I will be cutting each item (map, car, sunglasses, umbrella, suitcase and pirate items) out of black construction paper and gluing them to Popsicle sticks. To present this story I will have a large cardboard box with the back cut out of it so that a child or I could step inside or at least fit their hands and arms depending on how big you cut the back open. On the front side of the box I will cut a large square out of the box. This is where I will cover the open square with  white paper. In the inside of the box I will arrange a light fixture. For the light portion of the shadow puppets I might use a lamp or flashlight, it will all depends on which creates a better shadow. Since I cut open the back of the box I can now step inside the box or at least  I can have my arms and hands inside the box. I will now move the popsicle sticks to tell the story.

A good place that I would stop and ask the children questions would before elephant Gerald thinks of another item to bring on the trip. I would ask the children what they thought elephant Gerald would want to bring next. “I’m wondering what else Gerald might want to bring; do you have any wonders?"

 The book I have chosen is relatively short so it would not be necessary to chunk this book. Although if I was to chunk this book the best place to chunk the book would be when Gerald the elephant says “WAIT! There will be a lot of driving on our drive”. The teacher could ask for suggestions as to what is going to happen next. This is the best place to stop the book because it is just before Gerald and piggie realize they do not have a car which is the most important item. For chunking the book I will cover up the page where piggie and Gerald realize they do not have a car. This will be a good indication for myself to stop reading, it will also leave the children in suspense as they will wonder what is covered up. After finishing the book I  might ask the children if they thought that that was how the book was going to end. If they did not think it would end the way it did the children could then share their ideas of how they thought the book would end.

3 possible extensions for learning ( where might it lead you? What activities/ stories/ songs/ discussions/ art might follow out of this book?)

A possible extension for this book would be an art craft where the children get to create pig and elephant faces. The children would get to create the pig and elephant noses and ears. For this activity, the main material I would use would be paper plates. The children would have the opportunity to paint the paper plates in pink or grey to represent the animals. They could then draw or cut the paper plate to get the facial features and expressions of the animals.  I would also bring in different fabrics to add texture to the paper plates. Finally the plates would be connected with a band of ribbon so that the children would be able to wear them around their heads. Once the children have finished making their paper plate faces of an elephant or pig they can then role-play the story with the faces they have made. For another extension, I would invite the children to think about real life pigs and elephants. This discussion would lead me to showing the children videos of real elephants and pigs.  Along with the video, I would also bring in pictures of real life pigs and elephants to future their exploration of these animals.  A final extension I would do would be to sing the felt song five elephants with the felt pieces. After singing the song the first time, I would change the elephant to pigs so that the song becomes five pigs. Eventually after singing the song a couple of times, I would invite the children to sing along.

Elephant song:

One elephant went out to play,

Upon a spider’s web one day.

He had such enormous fun,

That he called for another elephant to come!

Continue rhyme with 2,3,4,5….

All the elephants were out at play,

Upon a spider’s web one day.

They had such enormous fun,

Till no more elephants were left to come!