This newest PAL Award winner for 2015, provides so many opportunities for language learning. A tale about friendship and acceptance, the story teaches us that we can be friends with those who don’t necessarily do thinbgs the way we do. Annoyance turns to acceptance.
Ella, Maddy and their little cat, Marmalade, are best friends busily carrying out several creative projects, building a playhouse in the sandbox and creating a sandcastle city, when they are interrupted by Toby. Walls, towers, rivers and moats were constructed only to be destroyed as the little boy from across the street came flying through with his cape and scooter.In his attempt to help the girls, Toby offered to fill the moat as “the lawn erupted into fountains of water.” Marmalade seems to be the only one who appreciates Toby’s exuberance. Reynolds’ use of descriptive words packs some punch in this brief story as Marmalade “slunk” farther out on a tree branch, “chasing the last rays of sun,” as the branch “trembled” in the breeze. Who is going to save Marmalade? Toby offered his cape as a safety net to catch Marmalade and gain the appreciation and acceptance by the girls. Now guess who is wearing capes? This book can offer a classroom teacher or parent a starting point for a fun discussion about friendships, acceptance and tolerating others with different preferences. What do you like to do when your friend comes over? What does your friend like to do? What if you don’t like playing with super heroes? Or take a look at all the descriptive verbs: scowled, frowned, stroking, twisted, leaped, or erupted. Pointing our these words in a picture book can help kids be more intentional in including descriptive words in their writing.
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