Mrs. Atkins’ 4th Grade Class

We have just finished reading Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary. In the book Leigh, the main character, asks his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw, about writing. What kinds of questions do you have about writing? What do you wish you could do better in writing?

We have been working on Reading Like a Writer book reports. Instead of writing about the character, the setting, the events, and the normal book report things, we are reading our books like writers. We are trying to notice things that our authors have said in their books that make the words come alive for us. Here are some of the things we have noticed so far.

Mrs. Atkins’ book:

I am reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. It is a rather large chapter book, but it is fascinating because most of the book is filled with illustrations. The text accompanies the illustration to give you part of the story. I am halfway through this 530 page book and I’m loving it!

One of the things I noticed when I read like a writer:

“A steam engine whistled its deafening shriek, which completely drowned out all the other sounds of the station for a moment and made Hugo jump, as it always did.” p. 222

I love this description of the train station, the main setting for this book so far. Brian Selznick used sensory words so we could feel like we were actually in the train station with Hugo. Can you hear the train?

What book are you reading? And what is your favorite part so far?

Who is your favorite author? Tell me about him or her and why this author is your favorite.

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