Tuesday Tales Welcomes Elle for Guest Post!!

Some of you know the story of my incredible journey into blogging. How I met someone born on the same day and year that I was born. Well, I have another story of new blogger friendship. I found Elle, a woman with a blog that I love who is also a speech pathologist. We are like minded in the way we view language and I invited her to guest post this week. You will love her post! Please visit her at "Fingerprints On My Window" and leave her a comment too! Also check out her posts about her amazing family vineyard!


Too Many Pumpkins, by Linda White and Illustrated by Megan Lloyd. A great read for October. I found this book through the scholastic book orders. This book can be enjoyed by a range of children, ages five to ten.

The simple story introduces us to its main character a senior woman by the name of Rebecca Estelle. Rebecca, an avid gardener, enjoyed growing everything except pumpkins. She hated pumpkins due to previous experiences in her personal history. Rebecca had vowed never to even look at a pumpkin again and she didn't until...........one Autumn day several pumpkins fall off a passing truck in her front yard. We spend much of the next few pages watching Rebecca try to rid herself of the pumpkins. In desperation Rebecca finally avoids her front yard by closing the drapes and using the back door. In the end, the reader is pleasantly surprised to see the change in this character's attitude about something she hated for a long time.

The vocabulary used is fun and helps set the tone of the book. The book introduces young readers to the following vocabulary words: enormous, smithereens, slimy, tumbled, insisted, admiring, noticed, curious, disgust, ignore, muttered, never, glanced, shrieked, twined, plopped, struggles, grumbled, perhaps, nuisance, whirled, and snugly.

The author will describe a few events and actions on each page and then uses the word "until" as a transition. What a great invitation to ask a question or make a statement to develop inferencing skills. Some examples might be;
"Oh I wonder what will happen next?" or "Maybe she will decide to eat the pumpkins."

It is also a great time to pause in your reading. When readers use pauses 2 to 3 seconds in length within a story it can be very powerful. Some quiet moments allow for the child to ponder what is happening and what will happen next. I encourage all readers of young child to "slow down." The art in this book is a treat as well.

My favorite thing about this story is we get to witness a character who ends up changing her mind about something after a long time. Learning that there is always a chance we could change our minds about something is a great life lesson for old and young alike.

I hope you all find a great read this October and enjoy the magic of a book shared with a child.

Elle, Fingerprints On My Window

Thank you so much, Elle!!

"Abundance is...pausing to think, and the freedom to change your mind!"

(Avtcoach)