Noticing: 4th Graders & Literary Language & Techniques

4th graders participating in comprehension conversation

I've been thinking about the logic that aligns content taught through whole class read aloud with small group comprehension conversations. Most of the times, this logic feels solid--but as is true for most situations there are, of course, exceptions.  I was thinking about this the other day when I met again with the four fourth graders who are in the middle of reading Nathaniel Hawthorne's retelling of the Persephone myth, The Pomegranate Seeds. The students were at the point in the story when Pluto had stolen Proserpina and carried her off in his chariot and they had arrived in his kingdom, the Underworld.

The students are keen to retell the text and do so with great integrity.  But their noticings are largely about plot. I want to introduce them to other literary elements and techniques, such as symbolism, personification, and diction and how these (in)form meaning. For example, when the narrator describes the River Lethe, I want the students to notice Hawthorne's diction and speculate about possible meanings the river might have. I want them to be stopped by the language and to allow themselves to not know and to wonder.

Sometimes, I tell them, I'm unsure why a passage might be significant, but the language stops me nonetheless. At these times, I'm not trying to understand the plot, but rather I'm noticing the author's language, diction, choice of words. I trust stopping and rereading even if I'm not sure why I'm doing so. Often I'll talk with my husband about the section of the text I think is important and that I just don't understand. Talking it out helps. That's one reason why you are working together in a group so you can talk to each other.  Let me show you what I mean. Let's take a closer look at the scene when Pluto and Proserpina come to the River Lethe. 

I read the text aloud as the children follow along. I want them to hear the words, not merely see them.

Screenshot of Page.  

The students notice what most advances the plot. They comment that Proserpina has been taken from her mother and is not of a mind to ever forget her, while Pluto would like nothing more. What gets lost in this reading is the River Lethe, Hawthorne's description of it, and what the river might symbolize. I get this. I know how familiar it is to ignore what doesn't seem to fit in to our understanding of the text,

Take a look again at just the first paragraph where Hawthorne describes the River Lethe. What strikes you here? I ask.
Well the stream's really dark cause Proserpina says she's never seen anything like it, begins Kamila.
It's torpid. That means it's inactive, says Antoine as he reads the definition on the page and I comment that using the information, like word explanations, is smart.
Yeah, it seems stuck, adds Dionni.
Stuck? What makes you say that? I ask.
Here in this section, Dionni says pointing to a line in the text.
Go ahead and read that, please. Let's lean in and listen, I say to Antoine, Luis and Kamila.
Dionni begins to read, "...it moved as sluggishly as if it had quite forgotten which way it ought to flow, and had rather stagnate than flow either one way or the other." See the stream doesn't know which way to flow.
Does that strike you as unusual?
It's as if the stream has a mind, says Dionni.
The river is also blank, offers Kamila.
What do you mean? asks Luis.
It's empty. It's zero. It's a river of nothing.
Yeah I see that. A river of nothing. Pluto says he'll give her water from the river so she can forget. The river takes away, adds Luis. It makes you forget.
If Proserpina loses all of her memories of her life before being taken to the Underworld, what does she have left? I ask.
Nothing. Like the river, says Kamila.
Dionni, before you said the river had a mind. What were you thinking about that?
It didn't know which way to go. Like a person, Dionni explains.
Wow, that's good noticing. Hawthorne personifies the river. In literature, the River Lethe is also known as the river of forgetfulness. In order for shades, people who have died, to enter into the Underworld they had to first drink from the river so that they forget their earthly life.
Wait, that's what Pluto wants, says Luis with some urgency. It's not just her mother she'll forget. It's everything.
She'll be dead. She has to die, adds Antoine.
I take a moment to let those last thoughts linger before I say to the children, As you continue to read see if there are other descriptions by Hawthorne that make you take notice--that stop you. Don't worry about understanding those sections right away. Try reading the section aloud so you can hear it. That helps me a lot. 

In working with the students I realized that the difficulty of the text, especially Hawthorne's diction and his use of figurative language, allusion, and symbolism make many of the lessons learned during read aloud not easy to apply.  The students have read and identified symbolism and personification before. Yet, because these students are reading such a challenging text, the instruction during the small group work requires more support as application of lessons learned doesn't translate directly. Further, the quality of the literary text they are reading opens opportunities to learn content not prescribe at their grade level.  So far we have discussed reliable and unreliable narrators, omniscient narration, allusion, symbolism, and diction.  As I work with these students I am understanding how important the small group comprehension conversation is.

The Power of Reading Aloud & Comprehension Conversations in Grade 4

Two fourth graders reading during small group comprehension conversation. 

I.  Big Questions 

It's early morning in a fourth grade classroom in Newark, NJ and the children and their teacher are at work studying Greek mythology. Beyond the classroom windows the weather hints at the possibility of spring.  But March has already been fickle and most anything could occur. Against the quiet of the classroom you can hear cars and trucks rumble by--the highway that splits this city runs just a few feet from the school. And in this mix of sounds it is the voice of one boy that we must pay attention to.

He turns and says to his teacher and classmates, "I've been thinking about the myths we are reading. How they are thousands of years old.  Do you think a thousand years from now people will think Christian and Muslim religions are myths, too?"

When the teacher tells about the child's question, I am contemplative--considering how children compose profound ideas in the company of their peers and alongside excellent teachers.

No gimmicks needed.
No scripts required.
No reform necessary.

What is needed are just a few well chosen texts, the agency to act, the mindfulness to notice singularities, and the intimacy of learning that gets made and remade alongside an exchange of ideas.

II. How Read Aloud Matters

As I listen to Mr. Watson, I'm reminded that in the right hands, read aloud can be a powerful method of knowledge building and need not be limited to the primary grades.  For the last several weeks, Watson has been reading Greek myths to his students and they have been talking, charting, and drawing what they understand, want to understand, and at times fail to understand. There's an intensity here as the children lean in physically, offer their comments, questions, and connections to one another.  You can feel the power that accompanies the made idea.  I tell you here that to see such learning is to know joy.

Children in this class have heard and read multiple versions of myths about: Prometheus, Epimetheus, Pandora, Persephone/Proserpina, Hades/Pluto, Demeter/Ceres, Echo, Narcissus, Hera, King Midas, Daedalus, Icarus, Pegasus, Bellerphon, Chimaera, Jason, Eros/Cupid, Perseus, Medusa, Hyperion, Zeus/Apollo, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Artemis, Cronus, Hercules, Aegeus, Heracles, the Minotaur, Theseus, Ariadne, Odysseus, Cyclops. I'm going to build on this foundation.  And it is a sturdy one.  As Luis will say about himself when I meet with him and three of his peers, You could say I'm an expert on Greek myths. 

III. Studying Hawthorne's Retelling of Greek Mythology: Small Group Comprehension Conversations

A example of a story map.

The work that Watson has been doing for the last few weeks provided the foundation for small group comprehension conversations about myths that I conducted with his students. In order to model what these conversations can encompass, I asked him to select students who I then worked with in order to demonstrate the process to other teachers.  On Thursday, I introduced Luis, Antoine, Dionni and Kamila to Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, The Pomegranate Seeds, which is a retelling of Persephone but based on Roman deity.  In order to scaffold the students while reading, I provided questions for the four students to think about and discuss at various points in the text (blue print), word explanations (red print), and some background notes (blue print).

Below are the first two pages of the story that show how I altered the text.  Because the students had heard their teacher read two other versions of Persephone, they are well versed in the story and could easily retell it. They also are familiar with both the Greek and Roman gods/goddesses and are able to understand quickly the alignment between Persephone and Proserpina, etc.  A main focus during the read alouds is the construction of story maps. These help children to not only grasp a literal understanding the myths, but also to name possible themes and symbols.

Page 1

Page 2

After the retelling, the students and I began reading the first page to ourselves.  I used the first four guide questions as discussion points making sure that students were able to comprehend what they were reading. These questions were used to generate conversation among the group and because comprehension was excellent, I invited the students to work collaboratively to read through the next few pages, stopping to make a prediction where indicated and to draw, label, and discuss their visualization of the last paragraph on page 2 and to then read on from there. They would work for the next hour.

IV. Nocturnal Tendencies

Dionni' s Sketch and Word Selection. Dionni mentioned that she placed
the ? on the face to indicate that the king is unknown to Proserpina.
She explained later to me that she got the idea while speaking with Luis.

While these students worked in a different part of the room,  I demonstrated another comprehension conversation with a different group of students who were reading a text about Odysseus's encounter with Cyclops.  I had infused that text with a few questions too. Understanding was anchored with students reading, annotating, and discussing the first two chapters of the text.  One of these discussions led us to view online a few of Romare Bearden's collages from The Black Odyssey.

These students then worked together to read and respond to the next few chapters and I returned to the first group who by that time had read on through page 4 of the text.

Instead of working through the text question by question, I asked the students if there was a section of the text or a question that was unclear.  Luis indicated that he didn't understand this question:

What did King Pluto's reaction to twilight and his characterization of sunlight tell you about him?

I don't understand that at all, Luis said. None of it.
Okay. Reread the question and think about what part is most confusing you. 

We reread to ourselves and then Dionni read the question aloud.

I don't get his reaction to twilight or what he says about sunlight, explained Luis.
What if we reread? Might that help? The children nod and I continue by asking, Luis can you show us the section in the text where Hawthorne mentions Pluto's feelings about twilight and sunshine?

Luis quickly finds the appropriate section and we all turn to it.  This is a continuation of the scene where Pluto has stolen Proserpina and they are in his chariot speeding towards the Underworld.  They have left the familiar landmarks of her world behind.

We reread and then I read the section aloud asking them to think about how they might retell the passage.

"Ah this twilight is truly refreshing," said King Pluto, after being so tormented with the ugly and impertinent glare of the sun.  How much more agreeable is lamplight or torchlight, more particularly when reflected from diamonds! It will be a magnificent sight when we get to my palace."

The talk initially is tentative as the students determine what they know. Kamila states that Pluto does not like light. Antoine clarifies saying its not all light and that Pluto likes the refreshing feel of twilight.  The kids are trying on ideas largely using Hawthorne's words. The group works together to establish that twilight happens between dusk and night and between dawn and sunrise. We use my phone to help us define impertinent and the students settle on the synonym, rude which they write above the word. This initial work helps them to begin to interpret, but this quickly dissolves into more confusion.

I then ask them to paraphrase sentence by sentence what is happening and they are able to offer this translation:

Even though it is midday, they are cast in a gloominess as the chariot flies across the land. Pluto is relieved to be out of the sunshine and thinks how the lighting in his palace, especially given all the diamonds, is more agreeable than the light from the sun. He's pleased to be getting close to his home.

Throughout this retelling, Luis is quiet as he listens to Kamila, Dionni and Antoine work the paraphrase.

Luis, does that help you to make sense of the passage and question? I ask.
He nods and then says, Pluto is nocturnal in thought and deed.

Nocturnal? Wow that's an interesting way to see him. I'd write that down, I tell the children, making note of Luis's words on my copy of the text.

Later, the teachers who have been observing and I express interest in how Luis characterized Pluto using a simple, yet profound statement.  The intense work of small group comprehension conversations rests on the weeks and weeks of hearing, discussing, and charting Greek myths via the read aloud that Watson has been conducting each day with his class.

Yet, what also connects read aloud and small group conversations in this classroom goes well beyond content.  It's about the space of permission that gets generated by the daily actions of the teacher and the children. They all know that big ideas are permitted and often happen while groping towards meaning.  This requires being wrong, being less precise, and being mindful to really hear that odd comment that when attended to opens the class to reconsider, rethink, rename something really big.

I think here of Gilles Deleuze who expressed this best when he wrote about the play of singularities. He noted, "beneath the general operation of laws, however, there always remains the play of singularities" (1994, p. 25). 

At the end of the day as I leave the school I'm thinking that it is so often this play of singularities that we must most tune our ears to hear. 

Works Read Aloud (So far...)

1. Burleigh, Robert. (2002). Pandora. Illustrated by Raul Colon. San Diego, CA: Silver Whistle/Harcourt.
2. Byrd, Robert. (2005). The Hero and the Minotaur: The Fantastic Adventures of Theseus.  New York:  Dutton Children's Books. 
3. Clayton, Sally Pomme.(2009). Persephone. Illustrated by Virginia Lee. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. 
4. Craft, Charlotte M. (1999). King Midas and the Golden Touch. Illustrated by Kinuko Y. Craft. New York: HarperCollins. 
5. Craft, Charlotte M.  (1996). Cupid and Psyche. Illustrated by Kinuko Y. Craft. New York: HarperCollins. 
6. Fisher,  Leonard Everett. (1990). Jason and the Golden Fleece.  New York: Holiday House.
7. Kimmel, Eric A. (Retold). (2008). The McElderry Book of Greek Myths. Illustrated by Pep Monetserrat. New York: Margaret L. McElderry Books. 
8. Mayer, Marianna. (1998). Pegasus. Illustrated by Kinuko Y. Craft. New York: HarperCollins. ((960L)
9. Osborne, Mary Pope. (1989). "The Four Tasks: The Story of Cupid and Psyche" (pp. 57-66). In Favorite  Greek Myths. New York: Scholastic.
10. Russell, William F. (2010). Classic Myths to Read Aloud: The Great Stories of Greek and Roman Mythology, Specially Arranged for Children Five and Up by an Educational Expert. Crown Publishing  Group. Kindle Edition. 

Some of the Texts in Use for Small Group Comprehension Conversations

1. Evslin, Bernard. (1984). Prometheus from Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths. New York: Laurel Leaf. 
2. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. (1853/2014). Tanglewood Tales: Greek Mythology for Kids. Illustrated by Virginia Frances Sterrett. Cedar Lake, MI: ReadaClassic.  
3. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. (1852/2011). A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls: Greek Mythology for Kids. Illustrated by Walter Crane.  Cedar Lake, MI: ReadaClassic. 
4. Holub, Joan & Suzanne Williams. (2012). Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom. Illustrated by Craig Phillips. New York: Aladdin.
5. Holub, Joan & Suzanne Williams. (2012). Poseidon and the Sea of Fury. Illustrated by Craig Phillips. New York: Aladdin.
6. Holub, Joan & Suzanne Williams. (2013). Hyperion and the Great Balls of Fire. Illustrated by Craig Phillips. New York: Aladdin.
7. Holub, Joan & Suzanne Williams. (2013). Hades and the Helm of Darkness. Illustrated by Craig Phillips. New York: Aladdin.
8. Holub, Joan. (2014). The One-Eyed People Eater: The Story of Cyclops. Illustrated by Dani Jones. Simon Spotlight. 
9. Little, Emily. (1988). The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War. New York: Random House Books for Young Readers. 
10. O’Malley, Kevin. (2005).  Mount Olympus Basketball. New York: Walker Childrens. 
11. Smith, Charles R (2008). The Mighty 12: Superheroes of Greek Myth. Illustrated by P. Craig Russell. New York: Little, Brown. 
12. Williams, Marcia. (2011). Greek Myths. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Critique Needed of An Image Gone Wrong

Boston (Reilly, 2015)

I. 

Sometimes when I make an image, I know it is failing.  
The composition is off.
The clarity of the work is too opaque.
I really don't have a clue what it is I'm trying to express.
And the more I try, the worse it gets.

I don't publish an image that is failing.  I keep those unfinished works quiet, private.


II. 

A few days ago I read Joyce Carol Oates in The Faith of a Writer discuss failure. She writes:

The artist, perhaps more than most people, inhabits failure, degrees of failure and accommodation and compromise; but the terms of his failure are generally secret (p.52).

I thought--this blog of mine can also be a place where work is more tentative, unfinished, error-ridden.  So today I placed at the top of this post an image that I tentatively titled, Boston.  I'm not sure what I'm trying for, nor what the image is expressing.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Spring into Spring with 30 Pre-K - 3 Books

from King for a Day.

After a long winter, cold and snowy here in the Northeast United States, we see the first signs that spring may be taking hold.  So it's time to celebrate and go outside with your little ones and after running around and playing, playing, playing -- take some time to read a few of these aloud.

Spring Focus

1. Agell, Charlotte. (1994). Mud Makes Me Dance In the Spring.  Maine: Tilbury House. 
2. Alarcón, Francisco. (2005). Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems / Jitomates Risueños y otros poemas de primavera. Illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez. New York: Lee & Low Books.
3. Bauer, Marion Dane. (2015). Crinkle, Crackle, Crack: It's Spring!  Illustrated by John Shelley. New York: Holiday House.
4. Berger, Carin. (2105). Finding Spring. New York: Greenwillow Books. New York: Puffin Books. 
5. Clifton, Lucille. (1992). The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring.  Illustrated by Brinton Turkle. 
6. Ehlert, Lois. (2001). Waiting for Wings. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
7. Fernandes, Eugenie. (2012). Kitten's Spring. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press.
8. Fogliano, Julie. (2012). And Then It's Spring. Illustrated by Erin E. Stead. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
9. Frost, Helen. (2012). Step Gently Out. Illustrated by Rick Lieder. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
10. Gerber, Carole. (2015). Spring Blossoms. Illustrated by Leslie Evans. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. (Reissued)
11. Glaser, Laura.  (2002). It's Spring. Illustrated by Susan Swan.  Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press.
12. Hillenbrand, Will. (2011).  Spring is Here. New York: Holiday House.
13. Jackson, Ellen. (2001). The Spring Equinox. Illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press.
14. Khan, Rukhsana. (2014). King for a Day. Illustrated by Christiane Krömer.  New York: Lee & Low Books.
15. Kimura, Ken. (2013). 999 Frogs Wake Up. Illustrated by Yasumari Murakami. New York: NorthSouth. 
16. Lewin, Ted & Betsy Lewin. (2012). Puffling Patrol. New York: Lee & Low Books.
17. Liu, Jae Soo. (2002). Yellow Umbrella. La Jolla, CA; Kane/Miller Book.
18. Ray, Mary Lyn. (2001). Mud. Illustrated by Lauren Stringer. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
19. Seeger, Laura Vaccaro. (2012). Green. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
20. Tamara, Erika. (1996). The Garden of Happiness. Illustrated by Barbara Lambase.  New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
21. Schnur, Steven. (2000). Spring Thaw. Illustrated by Stacey Schuett. New York: Viking.
22. Schnur, Steven.  Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic.  Illustrated by  Leslie Evans. New York: Clarion.
23. Seuling, Barbara. (2001).  Spring Song. Illustrated by Greg Newbold. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.
24. Snow, Virginia Brimhall. (2015). Spring Walk.  Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith.
25. Stewart, Sarah. (2007). The Gardner. Illustrated by David Small. New York: SquareFish.
26. Wahl, Charis. (2015). Rosario's Fig Tree. Illustrated by Luc Melanson. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.
27. Yee, Wong Herbert. (2007). Who Likes Rain? New York: Henry Holt.

Four Seasons

1. Berner, Rotraut Susanne. (2008). In the Town All Year 'Round. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle.
2. Lyon George Ella. (2014). What Forest Knows. Illustrated by August Hall. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. (4 seasons)
3. Messner, Kate. (2015). Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt. Illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. (4 seasons)

From Window Poems

It looks like we will be blessed with spring rain for the next few day--weather I most often love. This promise of a spring baptism has me thinking about how others situate rain and I recalled a lovely book of poems by Wendell Berry I had sitting on a shelf. This is the closing poem from Berry's book, Window Poems. I love how the known world among all that rising green is adrift in mystery, and how all of this gets sprung into motion when April with sweet rain comes.


27.

Now that April with sweet rain
has come to Port Royal again,
Burley Coulter rows out
on the river to fish.
He sits all day in his boat,
tied to a willow, his hat
among green branches,
his dark line curving
in the wind. He is one
with the sun.
The current's horses graze
in the shade along the banks.
The watcher leaves his window
and goes out.
He sits in the woods, watched
by more than he sees.
What is his
past. He has come
to a roofless place
and a windowless.
There is a wild light
his mind loses
until the spring renews,
but it holds his mind
and will not let it rest.
The window is a fragment
of the world suspended
in the world, the known
adrift in mystery.
And now the green
rises. The window has an edge
that is celestial,
where the eyes are surpassed.

Being, Becoming: Ed Standards in 2015, Oh My!

Coming through the Rye (M.A. Reilly, 2010)

I. Being Well Educated

When we ask, "What does it mean to be well educated in 2015?" there is an underlying belief that being is inherently valuable.  But is it?  Is your understanding of being well educated synonymous with being well informed about present events that are always emerging?  Is becoming knowledgeable a laudable disposition to engender at school?  Given the current push for all things Common Core, is there even time available for such knowing?  Is being well educated a matter of passing the state reading, writing and mathematics high stakes assessment your state and/or country procures and provides to schools to administer to children and teens?  After all the folks who gave us the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and its accompanying tests make a rather bold and one might be tempted to say, laughable, claim. They write:

The standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life, regardless of where they live.  (from official site, found here)

Really? Can success at college, career, and life be based on the acquisition of a determined set of skills and 'knowledge'?  Can the complexity of becoming be rendered simple and if so, can one actually still be becoming?  Is success ever predictable based on a single set of test results?

II. Becoming

Okay, such claims are easy to debunk.  So, let's shift our focus for a moment. What happens to your thinking if the word, being is deleted and instead becoming is substituted? Instead of being well educated, we wonder how we are becoming and what that means now and now and now...

Every moment unfolding is the learning. 

Does such a shift in time alter your focus or occasion your revaluation of what is privileged when we think about learning?  Becoming does not deny content, intent, or happenstance.  I think of this shift as an invitation to reevaluate the logic of naming what is to be known, of relying on predetermined bits of knowledge that come from a static list of educational standards proffered by a group of people.

Folks, it's the Committee of Ten all over again.

Is this what we want for our children?  Is this the stuff that leads to informed citizenry, that is representative of learning?  Is such a process really going to ensure our kids' life-long success as the CCSS writers insist?

Does the shift from being to becoming open intellectual, social, or spiritual spaces?  Does such a shift help you linger in possibilities, as opposed to being rooted in named and known certainties?

These are not small questions and they are ones we do not entertain when we offer commentary about what it means to know at school.  For all our bravado, we rarely talk about what must be talked about when we talk about learning at school.

The logic of education standards has no place in this century.  They belong to a time when information was scarce and procurement was the only expression of power.


III. Who's Edward Snowden?

What prompted this bit of inquiry was a retweet I viewed this morning by Will Richardson of  link to a video of John Oliver's 'insanely brilliant' interview with Edward Snowden that Gary Stager initially posted.  I was able to watch the video this afternoon and I hope you do too.  I then sent the link to my 16 year-old-son who I'm pleased to say knows a whole lot more about Edward Snowden and US surveillance via the Patriot Act than those depicted in Oliver's show.

What caught my eye initially after the mention of Snowden,  was the bracketed comment, "Not on the #ccss however." This language gave me pause as I heard the sassiness of it.

But it goes well beyond sassy.

Is it school-worthy for students to be able to contemplate what the US government has allowed itself to do with regard to domestic and foreign surveillance via the Patriot Act?  Is becoming an informed citizenry an apt educational outcome? Why would we ever want to limit such definitions of knowing ahead of time? Whose interest are being served by constructing school as places where children demonstrate that they too can name what has been named for them, most often by a slim elite group of others?

Here in the US, we are spending billions to implement and assess student learning based on a set of reading, writing and mathematics standards that still insist in 2015 on limiting naming what must be learned at each grade level across 13-years (K-12) by every child to what a few people who met in 2009 thought to be important.  Is such naming logical or does the very method of a group of privileged people naming--limit learning to what was perhaps profitable when information was scarce?

The logic of education standards as de facto expressions of what MUST be learned by all students across 13 years as measured by a single set of assessments is faulty and we should reject it and reject those elected officials who support such a paltry stance of learning.

April in Paris: 50+ Children's Books Set in France

from A Lion in Paris.

Agee, Jon. (1990). The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau. New York: Square Fish. 

Alemagna, Beatrice. (2014). A Lion in Paris. London, UK: Tate.

Banks, Kate. (2004). The Cat Who walked Across France. Illustrated by Georg Hallensleben. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Beaty, Andrea. (2014). Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau. Illustrated by David Roberts. New York: Harry N. Abrams. 

Bemelmans, Ludwig. (1958/1967). Madeline. New York: The Viking Press. 

Brannen Sarah S. (2014). Madame Martine. Park Ridge, IL: Albert Whitman & Company. 

Carlson, Natalie Savage. (1959/1989 ). The Family Under the Bridge. New York: HarperCollins. 

Dahan, André. (2000). Squiggle's Tale. San Francisco, CA Chronicle Books.

Debon, Nicolas. (2002). A Brave Soldier. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.

Dominguez, Angela. (2013). Let's Go, Hugo!  New York: Dial. 

Dunrea, Oliver. (1996).  The Tale of Hilda Louise. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Fowler, Gloria. (2014). Come With Me to Paris. Illustrated by Min Heo. Los Angeles, CA: AMMO Books. Egan, Tim. (2010). Dodsworth in Paris. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.San Francisco, CA Chronicle Books.

Fromental, Jean-Luc. (2010). Oops! Illustrated by Joëlle Jolivet. New York: Harry N. Abrams. 

Goode, Diane. (1999). Mama's Perfect Present. New York: Puffin Books. 

Gruener, Nina. (2011). Kiki and Coco in Paris. Photographs by Stephanie Rausse. Petaluma, CA: Cameron + Company. 

Hoestlandt, Jo. (1996). Star of Fear, Star of Hope.  Illustrated by Johanna Kang. Translated by Mark Polizzotti. New York: Walker Childrens.

Holmes, Mary Tavener and John Harris. (2010). A Giraffe Goes to Paris. Illustrated by Jon Cannell. New York: Two Lions.

Ichikawa, Satomi. (2008). Come Fly With Me. New York: Philomel.

Ichikawa, Satomi. (2004). La La Rose. New York: Philomel. 

Jacobson, Rick. (2005). The Mona Lisa Caper. Illustrated by Laura Fernandez. Toronto, ON: Tundra Books.

Jonath, Leslie. (2005). Postmark Paris: A Story in Stamps. San Francisco, CA Chronicle Books.

Kalman, Maira. (2002). Ooh-la-la (Max in Love). New York: Puffin,

Kimmelmann, Leslie. (2015). Everybody Bonjours!  Illustrated by Sarah McMenemy. New York: Dragonfly Books.

Kingfisher, Rupert. (2008). Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles. Illustrated by Sue Hellard. New York: Bloomsbury USA Childrens. 

Kirby, David. (2002).  The Cows Are Going to Paris. Illustrated by Chris S. Demarest. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.

Klein, Cheryl. (2012). Henri's Walk to Paris. Illustrated by Saul Bass. New York: Universe.

Knight, Joan MacPhail. (2003). Charlotte in Paris. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Kraulis, Julie. (2014). An Armadillo in Paris. Toronto, ON: Tundra Books.

Lamorisse, Albert. (1967). The Red Balloon. New York: Doubleday Books for Young Readers. 

Magoon, Scott. (2007). Hugo & Miles in I've Painted Everything! New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Maltbie, P. I. (2010). Claude Monet: The Painter Who Stopped the Trains. Illustrated by Jos. A. Smith. New York: Harry N. Abrams. 

Maltbie, P. I. (2005). Picasso and Minou. Illustrated by Pau Estrada. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.

Mancuso, Jackie Clark. (2015). Hudson in Provence. Paris: La Librairie Parisienne.

Mancuso, Jackie Clark. (2013). Paris-Chien: Adventures of an Ex-Pat Dog. Paris: La Librairie Parisienne.

Matthews, Elizabeth. (2007). Different Like Coco. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

McClintock, Barbara. (2006). Adèle & Simon. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

McCully, Emily Arnold. (1997). Mirette on the High Wire. New York: Puffin Books. 

Montanari, Eva. (2009). Chasing Degas. New York: Harry N. Abrams. 

Olshan,  Matthew. (2013). The Mighty Lalouche. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. New York: Schwartz & Wade. 

from Marguerite Makes a Book

Reich, Susanna. (2012). Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat. Illustrated by Amy Bates. New York: Harry N. Abrams. 

Robertson, Bruce. (1999). Marguerite Makes a Book. Illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt. Los Angeles, CA: Getty Trust. 

Rockliff, Mara. (2015). Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France. Illustrated by Iacopo Bruno. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Rubbino, Salvatore. (2014). A Walk in Paris. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Ruelle, Karen Gray. (2010). The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust. Illustrated by Deborah Durland Desaix. New York: Holiday House.

Sasek, Miroslav. (2004). This is Paris. New York: Universe. 

Selznick, Brian. (2007). The Invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic. 

Stock, Catherine. (2004). A Spree in Paree. New York: Holiday House. 

Stone, Tanya Lee. (2008). Sandy's Circus: A Story About Alexander Calder. Illustrated by Boris Kulikov. New York: Viking.

Thompson, Kay. (1999). Eloise in Paris. Illustrated by Hilary Knight. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Titus, Eve. (2010). Anatole. New York: Dragonfly Books.

Wellington, Monica. (2004). Crêpes by Suzette. New York: Dutton Juvenile. 

Winter, Jonah. (2012). Just Behave, Pablo Picasso! Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books. 

Wright, Johanna. (2009). The Secret Circus. New York: Roaring Brook Press. 

Yolleck, Joan. (2010). Paris in the Spring with Picasso. Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman. New York: Schwartz & Wade.

Young, Amy. (2005). Belinda in Paris. New York: Viking Juvenile.

Zolotow, Charlotte.  (1993). The Moon Was the Best. Illustrated by Tana Hoban. New York: Greenwillow Books.