StoryWalks® for Pennsylvania Libraries

StoryWalk® Prompts for Tidy by Emily Gravett

 

Intro Sign (displaying book cover and the following information)

StoryWalk®

Have fun enjoying nature and talking with your child as you read this story together! There are discussion prompts and activity ideas on each post. Feel free to do one, a few, or all as you proceed through the StoryWalk®. Talking about stories together is a wonderful way to help your child become a reader!

The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Storywalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.

This project is funded through the Family Engagement Grant, a federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries.

 

Sign 1

Display book cover again

Welcome to this StoryWalk® of Tidy by Emily Gravett!

Prompt: The title of this story is Tidy.  Tidy is another word for neat. Look at the little badger on the cover. What is he doing with that leaf? Travel on this StoryWalk® adventure to find out what happens when a badger gets carried away with keeping the forest tidy!

 

Sign 2

Pages 1-2

Text: Deep in the forest lived a badger named Pete, who tidied and cleaned and kept everything neat. He tidied the flowers by checking each patch, and snipping off any that didn’t quite match. He tidied the fox by grooming his fur, he untangled each knot and each twig and each burr. He tidied the birds, from the big to the small, by brushing their beaks and then bathing them all.

Prompt: There are a lot of rhyming words in this story! Rhyming words are words that sound the same at the end, like Pete and neat, patch and match, and fur and burr. Can you think of another rhyming word for Pete? Have fun listening for other rhyming words as you read together!

 

Sign 3

Pages 3-4

Text: He packed up stray sticks, he swept and he rubbed. He polished the rocks, and he scoured and he scrubbed.

Prompt: See if you can name the creatures watching Pete clean. How many did you find? Count them together!

 

Sign 4

Pages 5-6

Text: So, when a leaf fell, well…

Prompt: Remember that picture on the cover? What do you think Pete is going to want to do with leaves that fall? Travel to the next sign to see what happens next in the forest!

            

Sign 5

Pages 7-8

Text: No Text (Pictures of leaves falling everywhere and Pete looking up in dismay)

Prompt: Uh, oh! Look at Pete’s face. How do you think he is feeling? Travel to the next sign to see what he does about this!

            

Sign 6

Pages 9-10

Text: Pete tidied up. But still he wasn’t happy, now the trees looked bare and scrappy. And so, to make it all look neat, Pete undertook a MIGHTY feat…

Prompt: Look at Pete now! What did he do to tidy up the leaves? But he’s still not happy, and the author says he’s going to do a mighty feat. That’s another way of saying a big job. Keep going to see what Pete does next!

                 

Sign 7

Pages 11-12

Text: He dug up every single tree!

 

Prompt: That really was a mighty feat, wasn’t it? Look at his animal friends. How do think they feel about Pete digging up all the trees?

 

Sign 8

Pages 13-14

Text: But then it rained. There was a FLOOD!

Prompt: Oh, no! How was Pete prepared for the rain? Travel to the next sign to see what happens next…

 

Sign 9

Pages 15-16

Text: And afterward, a LOT of MUD!

Prompt: Why do you think there was so much mud? Travel to the next sign to see what Pete does now…

 

Sign 10

Pages 17-18

Text: Pete called in the diggers, he called in the mixers, he called in the concrete, the rakers, the fixers.

Prompt: What do you think Pete is trying to do to the forest now? 

 

Sign 11

Pages 19-20

Text: No mud, no leaves, no mess, no trees. Perfectly tidy and perfectly neat.

“This forest is practically perfect,” said Pete.

Prompt: Do you think the forest is practically perfect like this? Why or why not? Keep going to see what happens next for Pete and his friends!

 

Sign 12

Pages 21-22

Text:  I’m hungry! he thought. I deserve a treat. So he hunted around for something to eat. But the beetles and worms that he usually found were under the concrete, deep in the ground.

And so Pete decided to go home instead; if he couldn’t have dinner, he’d go straight to bed. But when arrived and took out his key, there wasn’t a door where a door used to be!

Prompt: Uh, oh! Why can’t Pete get find any food or get in his house?

 

Sign 13

Pages 23-24

Text:  Later that night, Pete tossed and he turned. His belly was empty, it rumbled and churned. As he lay in his mixer, wide, wide awake he started to think, “I have made a mistake!” So…

Prompt: It sounds like Pete isn’t happy about what he did to the forest. So, what do you think he will do now? Keep going to find out!

 

Sign 14

Pages 25-26

Text: The very next morning, when it got light, he set about trying to put everything right.

Prompt: Good for Pete! Everyone makes mistakes, and now Pete is trying to fix his. What is he doing first?

 

Sign 15

Pages 27-28

Text:  Then the animals came - from the strong to the weak, and they lent him a paw, or a claw, or a beak.

Prompt: Now, what is Pete doing? How are his friends helping? Clap your hands if you think this is a good idea!

 

Sign 16

Pages 29-30

Text: They put everything back as it always had been. (But maybe less ordered - and not quite as clean.)

And Pete? Well, he promised to tidy up less. But if he succeeded is anyone’s guess!

Prompt: Hurray! Pete and his friends look happy now, don’t they? Look closely at the pictures. How are the ants trying to help Pete keep his promise?

We hope you enjoyed this StoryWalk® of Tidy.

Thank you for coming and sharing your day with Pete and his friends!

Five Extension Ideas for Additional Programming with StoryWalk® Selections

These ideas can apply to any of the books to engage families and extend the StoryWalk® experience for your community.

1. Consider having your StoryWalk® available for two to four weeks and then holding a special storytime centered around the book! Make it a celebration by including a special craft, a guest reader, a talk from a park ranger, a video clip of the real animals in their natural habitats, etc. This could be done in reverse order as a kick-off celebration for each new StoryWalk®.
2. Give families a Draw and Tell activity sheet for each book. Children can draw a picture of their favorite part of the story and tell parents about their picture. Parents may write down the child’s words, and they can read it together!
3. Create stick or paper bag puppets for the main characters in each book. Encourage parents to help their children retell the story with their puppets!
4. Create a Story Sack with objects or props for each of the stories. Children and parents can use the bags to talk about the characters and events together. For example, for Snail Crossing you could have a snail shell or a picture of a snail, a cabbage leaf, a toy truck, etc.
5. Create a STEAM display for each book. In addition to the StoryWalk® book, have related nonfiction books, facts about the animals, and nature materials connected to each story. Add a simple craft or sensory activity and a related poem or nursery rhyme to round out your display.

Resources for Tidy

Related Books Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban (Fiction, a classic series) What’s Next? by Timothy Knapman (Fiction) What Are You Waiting For? by Scott Menchin (Fiction) Badgers by Mari Schuh (Nonfiction, Bullfrog Books: My First Animal Library)

10 Fun Facts About Badgers Badgers are nocturnal, which means they sleep in the day and wake up at night. Female badgers are called sows and male badgers are called boars. Their babies are called cubs. Badgers have large claws on their front paws, perfect for digging. Badgers live underground in a network of tunnels and chambers called a sett. Badgers sleep in a special, large room they create in their sett. They like to keep their houses clean, so they don’t bring food inside the tunnel. Badgers don’t hibernate during the winter. They go into a deep sleep for a couple of days, wake up to eat and then go back to sleep again. The cubs are blind at birth and stay with their mothers for around half a year. Badgers have poor eyesight, but a keen sense of smell that they use to find food. Badgers are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and meat. Badgers eat earthworms, small mammals, fruit and plants.

Songs Badger, Badger (Sung to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star) Badger, badger digging deep, Night is over, time to sleep. Way under the earth you sleep, It is daytime, in you keep. Badger, badger digging deep, Night is over, time to sleep.   Little Badger’s Song (Sung to I’m a Little Teapot) I’m a little badger, look at me. I’m awake all night, you see. Come the day, I’ll sleep, sleep, sleep, And you will not hear a peep!

Poems A Badger’s Day Badgers like to dig, dig, dig, They make their tunnels really big. Underneath the ground they sleep, In their setts so dark and deep. As nighttime falls, they raise their heads, And come away from their cozy beds. From their tunnels they do peep Nighttime is not time to sleep. Night is when they run and play, Hunt and eat before the day. When daytime comes, they can’t be found, They’re in their tunnels, underground!