Sophia knows exactly the right gift for her Birthday - a giraffe - but she has four big problems. Her mother, her father, her Uncle Conrad and her Grand-mama. Sophia will not be defeated. She presents her appropriate arguments to each family member in turn.
Mother is a judge.
Father is a businessman
Uncle Conrad is a politician
Grand-mama is very strict
Sophia explains to her mother, in a long sophisticated speech sounding like a barrister in the court, that a giraffe could deliver her safely to ballet. She then explains to her father, in a pragmatic and business-like way, giraffes are a good source of manure which could be sold for a profit. For Uncle Conrad Sophia conducts a poll with her toys. I love her results - two toys strongly agree with her proposition 'Ballerinas should ride giraffes to school.' Two others also agree but pony boy disagrees!
With each presentation Sophia uses a variety of tools such as a slideshow, graphs, a survey, and a pie chart. Her case seems compelling but each family member says no with their own words:
"your argument was too verbose."
"your presentation was far too effusive."
"And besides your report was far too loquacious."
There are days when I pick up a book that is just SO GOOD I gasp in delight. One Word from Sophia is a superb book! This is a book about the power of words, the importance of perseverance and optimism all delivered by a little girl who will make you cheer and smile. Look this review - Five reasons to get One word from Sophia.
This is a book that should be in EVERY Primary School library and I would add it to a High School collection too. Jim Averbeck has a set of teaching ideas on his web page. You can see the distinctive art style of Yasmeen Ismail here. You can see Jim talking about his book here.
One Word from Sophia really plays with words and hints at the power of words. It also shows many ways that information can be shared in an effort to persuade. Obviously, this makes it an excellent book to share when teaching about persuasion, persuasive writing, revision, or about advertising/marketing. The book is also a great romp to simply be enjoyed. Reading Through Life
The library which I visit each week employ a delightful idea. They add a small sticker to books that the library staff especially love - "Our Picks". As a regular library user I really appreciate these stickers because the very special books that have a little "Our Picks" sticker are generally utter treasures. There are about 350 of them so I keep my eyes open when I am browsing hoping to spot one to borrow.
Good news there are two more books that feature feisty little Sophia - I love her!
Due for release in June 2020
I talked about Yasmeen Ismail in a previous post - Christmas for Greta and Gracie was my top Christmas book last year.
No comments:
Post a Comment