A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To School

Title: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To School
Author: Davide Cali  
Illustrator: Benjamin Chaud
Publisher: Chronicle Books  
Publication Date: March 3rd, 2015   
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: Then there are the evil ninjas, massive ape, mysterious mole people, giant blob, and countless other daunting (and astonishing) detours along the way to school. Are these excuses really why this student is late? Or is there another explanation that is even more outrageous than the rest? From Davide Cali and Benjamin Chaud, the critically acclaimed author/illustrator team behind I Didn't Do My Homework Because . . .comes a fast-paced, actionpacked, laugh-out-loud story about finding the way to school despite the odds—and the unbelievable oddness!   
What I Think: I was wandering through the stacks at the library when I spotted this book. It caught my eye because I couldn't tell if it was a new book or an older book. It does have a feel of an older story but it's actually a 2015 book. Since the beginning of a new school year approaches, this title also caught my eye. When I picked it up and read it and fell in love. While it's a simple story with a basic premise, the writing and word choice makes it perfect as a mentor text.
     Starting a new school year is a perfect time to start new writer's notebooks. Getting kids going with writer's notebooks is so much fun. I love sharing the purpose of a writer's notebook and getting kids excited about what goes into them. This book is great as a mentor text to talk generate ideas but also to look at word choice. The boy in this book has all sorts of crazy things happen on his way to school and any of them could be seed ideas for other stories. But at the same time, students could look at the words used, write down any words that stand out to them, and then try those words in their own writing or pay attention to their own word choice.
Read Together: Grades 2-6
Read Alone: Grades 3-6
Read With: And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss, We Are Not Eaten By Yaks (series) C.A. London, Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable (series) by Dan Gutman
Snatch of Text:  

"Then on the way to the bus stop,

I was attacked by evil ninjas.

After vanquishing them, a sea of scary

Writing Prompts: Write about something unexpected that happened to you using your best descriptive writing. 
Topics Covered: Creativity, Imagination 

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