What to Read

{You can see more photos of this great couple here.}

It's time for the 2nd installment of What to Read Wednesday. Click here if you missed the first one. This week I decided to highlight one of my favorite all time books by the amazing author/illustrator Chris VanAllsburg. The Sweetest Fig.

If you would visit my home or classroom, you would quickly figure out that I'm {mildly} obsessed with all things Paris, especially the Eiffel Tower. There's just something about that magnificent piece of architecture that I'm drawn to. I've never been to it...but maybe someday my prince will take me there. :) Why am I talking about Paris? Well, The Sweetest Fig just so happens to take place in the City of Light. A not-so-nice-dentist named Bibot extracts a tooth for an elderly woman who is unable to pay him with money. Instead, she gives him two very special figs. This does not make Bibot very happy because he is darn right mean. You'll have to read the book to see the craziness that ensues.

This story is great if you like inferring, or figuring out what is going to happen before it happens. We know that when readers infer before, during, and after a text, they are more likely to be actively engaged in what they are reading. Which leads to deeper, lasting comprehension. I have found that women are naturally very very good at this because we like to "read into" everything {or at least my husband thinks I do - which is true}. So, as you're reading by yourself or with your child, stop during the story and think about what might happen next, why you think the author wrote that, what a character is feeling/thinking...and on and on and on. Happy Reading!