Friday, April 16, 2010

Born Yesterday the Diary of a Young Journalist


Yesterday I spent the afternoon in a fifth grade class. My colleague spent the afternoon with her student teacher planning the last unit. My student teacher taught my class, so I took a break from DRAII testing to spend time with students I had a few years ago. It was fun, but I am glad I don’t teach that age. I read them Born Yesterday The Diary of a Young Journalist by James Solheim. Last week I read it to my regular class. The story is about a little girl’s first year. It is told in journal from. It starts with her first entry written right before birth. She clearly states that had she know birth was so public she would have worn a tank top. The hilarious illustrations of Simon James capture the equally funny parts about older sisters and the importance of your reputation. Mr. James shows exactly what a baby looks like after it has bitten her ankle.


It is easy to fall in love with this story. It is amazing how a picture book with a baby on the cover can bring silence to a group of students. Off course the silence is filled with deep roars of laughter. I have learned over the years that this is the truest sign of a well loved story.

1 comment:

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

How awesome that you read this story to 5th graders. My own 5th grader is enamored with babies (he's a boy!) but still would have looked askance at that. :)