How to Use These Books

• The story’s format is designed to act as a spring board for imagination, conversation, and interaction.
• Encourage fanciful and fantastic descriptions.
• Engage in the exchange of ideas by sharing your own thoughts, ideas, images, or past experiences. See where the conversation goes.
• Encourage the child/ren to draw pictures, verbalize images, or both. Create multi-media images by:
  • Cutting out pictures from magazines
  • Using family photos and drawing around them
  • Performing the story as a play
• Pick one of the topics in the story and explore it further. The options are abundant!
• Don’t worry if you don’t finish the adventure in one sitting. Finish it another day. Often the best adventures take time to complete.

Teaching Points

Here are some of the high-level messages and lessons you can highlight and reinforce.

• Baseline Messages (common to all stories in the series)
  • Let your imagination go. Fantastic images are encouraged. Have fun!
  • If you can dream it, you can do it.
  • There are no wrong answers. This is your book. Your thoughts, images, and ideas are right.
  • If you notice a typographical or grammatical error, use it as a teaching opportunity.

    Besides correcting the mistake, you can reinforce other values: patience, forgiveness, understanding, and flexibility. Simple mistakes happen. Apologies, in advance.

• Story-specific Messages
  • Take charge of your day.
  • Be responsible for your actions.
  • Make your own fun.
  • Fun comes in many forms, often in simple pleasures.
  • Clean up after yourself. Put things back as you found them.
  • Practice good sportsmanship. Play fair and try your best.
  • Help at home, especially when asked.

Examples of Use

Kindergarten-Grade 1

• Stimulate & Encourage Imagination, Conversation & Social Interaction Skills
  Use pictures, puppets or other visual aids to supplement the story. Engage the children by asking leading questions to create dialog and stimulate the imagination.

Grades 2-3

• Team-based Collaborative Project
  Divide the class into small groups and instruct the children to work as team. As a team, they decide how to illustrate the book in the specified time.
• Reward / Incentive Program
  After the required assignments are completed as specified, the student can then work on this creative project.
• Teaching English as a Second Language / Learning Another Language
  Helpful in bi-lingual education or with families where English is not the primary language.
• Extended Research of the Topics
  Delve into the story’s images or the activities listed in The Companion Guide.

Grades 4, 5, 6

• Service / Mentoring Project
  Illustrate and give the books to children at lower grades, children in hospitals, relief agencies, or other groups.

Grades 7-8

• Service / Mentoring Project
  Partner with a student from Grade 2 or 3 to foster a big brother/sister-type relationship.

Babysitters, Day Care Workers, Tutors, Family Therapy or Counseling Sessions

• Social & Learning Activity (Individual or Group)
  Helps improve reading comprehension, visual imagery, imagination, communication, and social interaction skills.

Children with Special Needs & the Elderly

• Developmental Activity (Individual or Group)
  Helps improve communication, interpersonal, and social skills.