Halloween seems to get bigger every year. While I’m saddened to see the free-range trick-or-treating of my childhood wane, I still love the imagination with which so many young people (and their parents!) embrace the season. And, of course, in my household full of black cats, I need to put up a few appropriate decorations. … Continue reading
The biggest pumpkin ever grown in Michigan weighed in at over 2000 pounds. It must have been a pumpkin like that that inspired Wendell Minor’s How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow? This is a story to delight and inspire any pumpkin lover’s imagination. Minor starts with an image of a typical festival-winning giant pumpkin, then … Continue reading
Every October, I look forward to the Halloween picture book display at my local bookstore, hoping to find something new to tickle my imagination. This year did not disappoint. This year I discovered Ginny Goblin. Ginny is the star of Ginny Goblin is Not Allowed to Open This Box, a delightful tale of a curious … Continue reading
I’m always on the lookout for good, non-gory Halloween fun. This year I found it in Aaron Reynold’s Creepy Pair of Underwear! Why is young Jasper Rabbit afraid of his underwear? Just because they glow ghoulish green, and keep reappearing unexpectedly, that’s no reason to worry, right? Jasper isn’t sure. There is so much to … Continue reading
Halloween is almost here, and along with creative opportunities for scary story writing (see here and here), come some silly-story options as well. I’ve written previously about Halloween parodies of favorite tales. I also love the story of Delia the witch in It’s Raining Bats and Frogs. When Delia is frustrated by rain on the … Continue reading
It may be the day before Halloween in the U.S., but it is never too late for a good parody. I’ve written before about how parodies can give students motivating and effective practice in analogical thinking, and this week I discovered a new one. Ludwig Bemelmans’ classic children’s book Madeline tells the story of twelve … Continue reading
It is almost Halloween, which means in the U.S., it is time for SPOOKY STORIES. Spooky stories are fun, and a fine opportunity to practice skills of description, elaboration, and plot development in a novel way. It is also, particularly for older students, a chance to help them distinguish between artfully created suspense and gory … Continue reading
creativiteach 