Caring For Your Lion

Title: Caring For Your Lion
Author: Tammi Sauer 
Illustrator: Troy Cummings 
Publisher: Sterling Books 
Publication Date: May 2nd, 2017 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: What happens when you expect an itty-bitty kitty . . . but get a lion instead?
It’s kitten delivery day, but—SURPRISE. Congratulations on your new LION! We know you ordered a kitten, but we ran out of those. Fortunately, the big cat comes with instructions—like, try very hard NOT to look like a zebra. Or a gazelle. And give your lion PLENTY of space to play. But soon the feathers and fur start flying and everything’s in chaos. Is there any way a lion could actually be a child’s purr-fect pet?  
What I Think: In high school, I had to write put a twist on a How-To piece and I wrote all about how to get kicked out of a movie theater (I might have gone with a bunch of friends to see a movie and we may have been a bit loud...although we never got kicked out). Anyway, it was fun to come up with a way to spin a traditional How-To piece and add some voice and pizzazz to it. As I was reading Caring For Your Lion, I thought about that assignment because this book explains step by step directions for having a lion as a pet. As you can imagine, it's a lot of work! This book is super fun and a great example of a mentor text that might get some creative juices flowing!
     On another note, this is also a book that deserves a good close read. There are so many things to notice in the illustrations that students will be able to recognize how the text and illustrators work together and gather evidence of their inferences. Make sure to really look at the illustrations - and the undies! - to catch all the ways the illustrations support the text.  
Snatch of Text: 

"Step 3: Try very hard NOT to look like a zebra. Or a gazelle Or a bunny." 

Writing Prompt: Write your own twisty-turny How-To piece!