X is for NOT a Box: Library Notes


What do I see when I first look at the cover of this book?  I see a paper bag craft to connect to the book, pencil drawings and an award.

Antoinette Portis is the author of this book which is dedicated to 'children everywhere sitting in cardboard boxes'.  She clearly has a vision of the creative imaginations of young people and wrote with this in mind.  

What do I predict the book is about?  Something is not just a box....it is more than a box.  Maybe they will make boxes to be racecars and robots or maybe they will find different kinds of treasures in different boxes like a shoe box or a chocolate box???

The cover is very simple except for a shiny silver seal on it stating that the book is a New York Times best illustrated children's book.  Simple drawings yet best illustrated. Interesting.  I predict the book will be simple too.

When I open it up, I discover that the structure of the text is very simple.  The vocabulary includes early sight words and overall it is an early reader text.  And it is also a good choice for early artists too.

The book is a typical kid conversation concluding with the question, 'What is it then?' and the answer...'It is my NOT A BOX'.

The story shows the difference between what the world sees and what a child with imagination sees.  It reveals a world of possibilities from a child's perspective. Keep them believing and dream a world of possibilities with them!  Be their cheerleader as readers, as dreamers and as people.






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