Pistes d'exploration

Discuss whether you think Mr. Slinger did the right thing about Lilly’s bag. Why or why not?

Write what you would write and draw if you were to go to the Lightbulb Lab. 

Draw and write a story about a favourite teacher.

Write the note that Lilly’s mother wrote to Mr. Slinger.

Write in your journal about what you would like to be when you grow up.

Choral read with the teacher, taking the parts of Lilly, Mr. Slinger, and Lilly’s mother and father.

Make a character map of Mr. Slinger and Lilly’s parents. Discuss how they helped Lilly solve her problem.

Discuss the story. Why does Lilly like Mr. Slinger? Why does her opinion of him change? Compare Lilly’s three drawings of Mr. Slinger. Why is Lilly’s “uncooperative chair” a good place for her to think about what she did? What does Lilly learn from her bad day at school?

Write about a bad day at school; include your problem and the solution.

Wemberly Worried, Gabby, Drama Queen

Mots-clés

Picture book , apologies , mice , new school year , schools , show and tell , teachers

Commentaire descriptif

Lilly loves school: her school supplies, her personal desk and the noise her shoes make in the hall. She especially loves and admires her teacher. But when Lilly brings special things from home, she finds that regular school life and her teacher are interfering with what she really wants to do—play with her treasures and show them to the class. The illustrations feature colourful, detailed cartoons of the mouse characters. Sidebar comments worked into the illustrations add nuance to the story. Firmly rooted in a child’s point of view, this delightful story depicts a familiar conflict—how to put aside one’s own needs and work in cooperation with others. At the start, sentences are simple and short, but as the story unfolds, they lengthen and vocabulary is increased, reflecting the complexity of Lilly’s new feelings. Dialogue is finely tuned and true to life. The voices of Lilly and her teacher, even her classmates’ asides (“She’s in trouble”), are a pleasure to read out loud, perhaps especially to children beginning their own school careers.