Pistes d'exploration

At the beginning of each three-flap page, make predictions about what might happen with the dog and the ball.

After each segment, look at the pictures and summarize what happened using sequencing vocabulary: first, next and then.

As a group, role play the characters in one of the story segments. Bring the scene to life by adding simple dialogue. Share your skit with the class.

Discuss activities you like to do outside. Illustrate one activity in the same colours and one-word style.

Act out the words jump, catch and run.

Learn vocabulary for outdoor equipment (trampoline, swings, park bench, picnic table, etc.).

Do a picture walk and talk about the settings. Predict where the ball will go. Discuss how the colours are used for elements throughout the book.

Discuss activities you like to do outside. Illustrate one activity in the same colours and one-word style.

Ball, Water in the Park: A Book About Water & the Times of the Day

Mots-clés

Picture book , Play , actions , cause and effect , dogs , point of view , setting , wordless book

Commentaire descriptif

This simple story is rich in visual information, with minimal text that involves imperative commands: “Jump!” “Catch!” “Run!” Graphic-style spreads illustrate various scenes in which a yellow dog pursues his red ball. Staggered-size pages create wordless sequences reminiscent of flip-book animation. This allows readers to suggest command-words as they turn pages. There is an opportunity to discuss the interplay of ball and dog, and the various commotions they cause. In one sequence, the ball descends on a queue of people waiting for a bus. Flipping the short page reveals the ball bouncing off someone’s head, as his neighbour laughs. A flip of the medium-size page shows them arguing, as a third person catches the ball. “Go!” reads the subsequent spread, as the dog pursues the ball’s trajectory off the page (and a scuffle breaks out in the queue). Kids on a trampoline, a couple wooing each other in the park, and a giraffe at the zoo are among the many characters encountered by dog and ball. The final sequence shows the ball rolling to a boy reading in the shade—followed by a hugging, tail-wagging reunion: “Good Dog!”