Our Own "Box Full of Treats"

As our Kevin Henkes Author Study draws to a close, the last week has been devoted to utilizing the small moment stories in "A Box of Treats". This is a collection of five "small moment" stories: "Lilly's Chocolate Heart", "Owen's Marshmallow Chick", "Wemberly's Ice-Cream Star", "Julius's Candy Corn" and "Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick". In each short story, a treat of some kind is the focus, namely,an ice cream star, peppermint stick and chocolate heart. Each treat represents a different holiday or season. Using these books as our inspiration, students were invited to think of their own "small moment" story and include one of their favorite Kevin Henkes' character. They were reminded that even though this is a small book, it still needs to include a great beginning, details and events with a problem and solution, and an ending that "stays in the moment". The results have been amazing. We now have "Owen's Birthday", "Wemberly's Day @ Disney", "Lilly's Christmas", "Owen Lost His Blanket at the Zoo", "Lilly's Masterpiece" and "Wemberly's Dentist Trip".

The following story is Caroline's treat to all of us -- "Wemberly's Dentist Trip". It is delightful to see how author's craft is used in this piece especially reading the mouse's words in the pictures.

Wemberly's Dentist Trip


One hot sunny day, Wemberly went to the dentist.



Wemberly was worried that Petal won't get her teeth checked.



Miss Caroline called Wemberly in the dentist room. (Can Petal come?)



Then Wemberly forgot Petal. Wemberly was worried that she had cavities.



Miss Caroline said, "Open Wide" to Wemberly. Wemberly was trying to think about Petal. (When is Petal coming?")



Wemberly thought that Petal was lost forever. "I found her," said Miss Caroline.



But Miss Caroline said, "Wemberly has cavities." (What if Petal has cavities?)