Picture Book Month Day 1: Picture Books as Writing Mentor Texts Featuring THESE HANDS
November is Picture Book Month. For the main site, click on this link. I’ll be highlighting a picture book a day here at my site, focusing on ways you can use them as mentor texts for writing.
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Houghton Mifflin, 2010
Summary:
This story is based on the life of a real person, Joe Barnett, a bakery labor union leader who fought for equal rights for African American workers. In this poetic vignette of life with his grandson, we learn about the things Joe’s hands have done over the years and what this means for his young grandson, who is still learning basic skills with his hands–like playing sports and tying his shoes.
Mentor Text Writing Skills:
* Specificity of language
* Figurative language
* Word Choice
* Narrative based on a true story
Hear the author read the story on this video.
This text is also a Virginia Readers’ Choice Selection for 2013-14.
For more information about mentor texts, check out these links:
