I ordered "The Day the Crayons Quit" from Scholastic Book Order after hearing so many teachers and parents rave about it. I was unsure about how it would go over with the upper elementary crowd but decided it would be a fun read aloud on our first day back to school after winter break.
Oh man, I have never had so many laughs at a read loud. My fourth graders LOVED it. They wanted to see it afterwards to read it over and over again!
It's a story about a little boy's box of crayons who write letters to him one day expressing their outrage toward him in some way or another. Some crayons are upset that he uses them too much, some crayons are upset that he uses them too little. The author, Drew Daywalt, is incredibly humorous.
This book is a perfect model for letter-writing or personification! After we finished the read aloud, I asked my students to pick a school supply in their desks and write a letter to themselves from the perspective of that school supply. They had a blast with this activity because it really let their imaginations soar!
If you'd like to purchase the book for your classroom or your own children, I can't recommend that you do so enough! I even read it aloud to my coworkers because it was so funny! Find it on amazon here:
Hi Caitlyn! First of all, I wanted to tell you that I love your cheerful blog design! My favorite book for a fourth grade read-aloud is "The Math Curse" by Jon Scieszka. If you love that, then be sure to read "The Science Curse." I love using picture books to convey meaning with older students. Our college professor read to us each day so I have a great collection of ideas. :)
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It makes me so happy that your fourth graders lived the picture book! I write nonfiction picture books (my first book comes out next year) and the reader in my head is often nine or ten years old. I only hope that real nine and ten year olds will pick up my books, too! Thanks for reminding your kids that picture books are fun even when you're old enough to read other things too! Never too old for pictures
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