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Bunting, Eve. The Wednesday Surprise. Clarion Books. New York, New York. 1989.           ISBN 0-395-54776-8

Summary: Every Wednesday night, Anna and Grandma practice reading together as a birthday surprise for Anna's dad.

Readability Level: End of year 2nd grade

Review: The Wednesday Surprise is a beautifully written picture book from the first person point of view. The story has a strong plot with a surprise ending. The author sets up the reader's expectations to believe Anna is her reading, but in the end as a birthday surprise for her father. In the end, the reader learns Anna taught her Grandmother how to read. The "surprise" is revealed when Grandma reads aloud for Anna's dad's birthday. The story is a heartwarming piece celebrating reading and relationships. The Illustrations are by Donald Carrick.

Teaching Possibilities: The surprise ending in this story is an excellent model for "endings" in writing. Follow the story arc to teach basic plot: character, setting, problem, solution. Study how the author writes the story in first person. Compare the writing to another text written in third person. There is a lot of dialogue in this story. Use the dialogue to teach conventions of dialogue. Discuss how the dialogue is used to move the story forward. You will find a number of opportunities for students to infer using The Wednesday Surprise.

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