The Snatchabook

Title: The Snatchabook 
Author: Helen Docherty
Illustrator: Thomas Docherty   
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Publication Date: October 2013 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Books 
GoodReads Summary: Where have all the bedtime stories gone?

One dark, dark night in Burrow Down, a rabbit named Eliza Brown found a book and settled down...when a Snatchabook flew into town.It's bedtime in the woods of Burrow Down, and all the animals are ready for their bedtime story. But books are mysteriously disappearing. Eliza Brown decides to stay awake and catch the book thief. It turns out to be a little creature called the Snatchabook who has no one to read him a bedtime story. All turns out well when the books are returned and the animals take turns reading bedtime stories to the Snatchabook. 
What I Think: I can't imagine if our books started disappearing! Little Eliza Brown has to get to the bottom of the mystery when books start disappearing all over the place. I completely can't blame her. I enjoyed how this book celebrates snuggling up and reading stories but also compassion. When Eliza finds the Snatchabook, she helps figure out how to include him in read alouds instead of having him keep ferreting books away. 
     It's so easy to misunderstand people and their actions but Eliza shows us how listening and understanding the root of the problem can go a long way in solving the problem. I also thought it was great that the Snatchabook was able to open up to Eliza and that she was able to help him. This book is a sweet read with potential to spark some interesting conversations.
Read Together: Grades K - 3 
Read Alone: Grades K - 3 
Read With: Won't You Be My Hugaroo? by Joanne Ryder, Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na,  More More More Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams
Snatch of Text:  

"In every house,

in every bed,

a bedtime book

was being read.

Tales of dragons, spitting flames;

Witches playing spooky games;

Pirates on the seven seas;

Princess trying to sleep on peas.

And every child in every bed,

listened hard to each word said."

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Descriptive, Alliteration, Anaphora, Rhyme  
Writing Prompts: Write about your favorite read aloud setting. Describe where you are, what it looks like, what it smells like, what you hear. Use your five sense to help your readers visualize what it might be like.  
Topics Covered: Family, Honesty, Forgiveness, Compassion  

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