Apr. 16, 2008: Meet Author Laura Amy Schlitz

The Mini Page is a syndicated, four-page tabloid written for young children found each Wednesday in the Rocky Mountain News. This issue of The Mini Page is available through the eEdition Archive to registered eEdition subscribers. Click here to learn about subscribing to the eEdition at no cost to you (for Colorado teachers).

Activities:

1. Draw an outline of Brian Selznick or Laura Amy Schlitz on a piece of paper. Cut out newspaper words that describe your person and paste them on the outline. Write a sentence telling about your person.

2. Make several "Mystery Book" posters. Cut out newspaper words and pictures that tell about one of the books in today's Mini Page. Paste them on a piece of construction paper but don't use any words from the book's title. Show your posters to friends and see if they can guess the correct book from your clues.

3. Make a list of the books featured in today's Mini Page. Find a newspaper story that matches each title in some way. Discuss your choices with a friend.

4. Which of the award-winning books in today's Mini Page are (a) about real people, (b) about people in a different time period, and (c) are fiction, not about real people?

5. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about one of the Coretta Scott King awardwinning authors or illustrators. Use these questions to guide your research: How old is the individual? When did he/she become interested in writing or illustrating? What training did the person have? What was the individual's first book? How was that book accepted? What advice does the individual give to young readers? Write a paragraph discussing your findings.

This week's standards:

• Students comprehend and respond to a variety of images and text. (Language Arts: Reading)
• Students identify forms and elements of literature. (Language Arts: Reading)
  
  

(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)