By. Brian Selznick
“This book was a joy, a challenge, and a puzzle to put together. I hope you enjoy meeting Ben and Rose, and joining them on their thrilling, dangerous and unexpected adventures in New York City.”
–Brian Selznick
Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.
Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories — Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures — weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful — with over 460 pages of original artwork — Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.
Reading level: About 4th grade and up Lexile: 830LSuggested Delivery: Whole Class or Small Group
Vocabulary:
Electronic Resources:
http://www.wonderstruckthebook.com/home.htm - This is the official website for the book!
http://www.scholastic.com/wonderstruck/index.htm - this site has great references and activities to incorporate when teaching/reading this book.
http://www.readingforcomprehension.com/wonderstruck/ - Brian Selznick has a lot of resources to look through and use that are located that this website!
http://quizlet.com/8112936/words-from-the-book-wonderstruck-by-brian-selznick-flash-cards/ - This site has pre made flashcards for all of the vocabulary words for this book.
Before reading: this book could be connected to the Scott Foresman reading anthology story The Houdini Box also by Brian Selznick. Both stories have a vast amount of information just from the pictures and are great for teaching inferential comprehension. Before reading you could ask a question that bring up the importance of being able to tell a story and the different ways to do that (words, pictures, music, dance, sign language) how do people that speak different languages communicate? what about people that are deaf or blind. Because these things relate to the ending of the story, its gets the students thinking about these things in preparation for what is to come without giving away the end of the story.
http://www.scholastic.com/wonderstruck/index.htm - this site has great references and activities to incorporate when teaching/reading this book.
http://www.readingforcomprehension.com/wonderstruck/ - Brian Selznick has a lot of resources to look through and use that are located that this website!
http://quizlet.com/8112936/words-from-the-book-wonderstruck-by-brian-selznick-flash-cards/ - This site has pre made flashcards for all of the vocabulary words for this book.
Activities to increase comprehension:
Before reading: this book could be connected to the Scott Foresman reading anthology story The Houdini Box also by Brian Selznick. Both stories have a vast amount of information just from the pictures and are great for teaching inferential comprehension. Before reading you could ask a question that bring up the importance of being able to tell a story and the different ways to do that (words, pictures, music, dance, sign language) how do people that speak different languages communicate? what about people that are deaf or blind. Because these things relate to the ending of the story, its gets the students thinking about these things in preparation for what is to come without giving away the end of the story.
During reading: Have students make predictions about what will happen or how Ben and Rose are connected.
After reading: Have the students write stories in only pictures. Give students pictures and have them write stories inspired by or based on the pictures. Compare and contrast different books from Brian Selznick. You can connect this book (narrative) to expository writing have students research something they were interested in that was mentioned in the book and write an expository piece that connects to the book.
After reading: Have the students write stories in only pictures. Give students pictures and have them write stories inspired by or based on the pictures. Compare and contrast different books from Brian Selznick. You can connect this book (narrative) to expository writing have students research something they were interested in that was mentioned in the book and write an expository piece that connects to the book.
There is really so much to do with this book and there are so mane great resources out there to use and incorporate. When I was student teaching I read The Houdini Box to my kids and was able to connect Wonderstruck to the unit and the kids loved it. I definitely would not hesitate to create a unit of study or connect this book to the curriculum again in the future!
