Ezra Jack Keats Author Study

I don't have a lot of time to do author studies, but I LOVE them.  I love sharing books with kids, finding patterns within an author's style of writing, and getting children to LOVE authors.  I think that it is a wonderful way to expose children to different books and to get them to enjoy reading!

I am joining a group of ladies today to share with you some wonderful book units by Ezra Jack Keats.  You will hop along each of our blogs and pick up a materials to teach one of his books.  By the end of the hop, you will have enough material to put together an entire author study for your kids!

I am going to share with you a few more facts about Ezra Jack Keats.  Since I am the end of the hop, I will share with you about the end of his life.  Keats never married or had any children of his own.  He died of a heart attack in 1983.  Ezra Jack Keats illustrated over 85 books.  He had written and illustrated 22 books.  He had even designed the sets for a musical version of his book The Trip.  This show, called Captain Louie, can still be seen today.

I am sharing with you the book Regards to the Man in the Moon.  This book was one of his last written, only being published 2 years before his death. While looking through his collection of books, this one stood out to me.  It is about a little boy that turns some old "junk" into a space ship.  He and his friends "travel into space," fueling their ship with imagination.  When I read this book, all I could think of was my own son.  I imagine him sitting in a cardboard box, flying through space (with Buzz Lightyear, of course).  This book went straight to my heart because I see first hand that there are still children out there with vivid imaginations.  There are still children out there that can turn old "junk" into a new adventure, just like Louie in Regards to the Man in the Moon.
 

 I am sharing with you today a few pages from my book unit on Regards to the Man in the Moon.  These pages can be used completely on their own as a science extension to your lesson or can be paired with the rest of the unit for a great book study.  In this science extension, students learn to turn old "junk" into something new (also known as recycling).  Students are encouraged to take old materials that would otherwise be thrown away and, with the help of a little imagination, to create something new with it.  The pages included give students a place to write about their final project!  Pick up your sample here or by clicking on the picture below.

 If you would like to pick up the full book unit, I have it on sale for this weekend only!  You can pick up the full unit on sale for only $2.

Or you can have the opportunity to win the full unit by entering the giveaway below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to head back to the beginning if you haven't picked up all of the freebies! Just click on Whistle for Willie!