I bought this book, Looking Down by Steve Jenkins, years ago when I was student teaching. It was part of our “map” studies, and was great for that. I just pulled it out at the end of the year this year when we were working on our classroom maps, and I discovered new potential! This is a fantastic book for teaching kids how to zoom in on small moments.
When I begin to teach my students the difference between a personal narrative and a small moment, I explain that a narrative is a big story, and a small moment is when you zoom in on one interesting part. This book is wordless, and very clearly depicts this “zooming in.”
Beginning with a view from outer space, each page brings you closer in to a story. You begin to see more and more details, and at the end you see how the author zoomed in on one tiny thing – a discovery of a ladybug in the garden.
I love the simplicity of the book, as well as its wordlessness (if that is even a word.) Next year I plan to pull this book out sooner! Do you have any great book recommendations for writing mentor texts? Please share!
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