A PIG PARADE IS A TERRIBLE IDEA by Michael Ian Black is a crack up! This book would make for a great fun read aloud. This is a great book about all of the reasons that a pig parade is a bad idea--my favorite reason is that "pigs absolutely refuse to wear majorette uniforms". There are many, many reasons that the authors give us, but that one was my personal favorite. The humor is quite sophisticated and I will have to try it out but I am pretty sure it will make my BOOKS I COULD READ A MILLION TIMES list.
I could see using this book in writing workshop as a great mentor text for persuasive writing. (If you do use it for writing workshop, please, please, please make sure to read it aloud to your kids a few times first--just for the fun of it.) The authors begin the book with a great lead about thinking that maybe a pig parade might be a good idea. Then they go through point by point and explain why this is a terrible idea. At the end of the book, they summarize again why this is so bad. When I did units with upper elementary kids on persuasive writing, finding great examples was often a little bit difficult. I'd find a few things online and lots of op ed pieces, but there weren't many great picture books that kids could study to learn about persuasive writing. This book is one of the best pieces of persuasive writing I have seen. Readers are clearly convinced by the last page, that a Pig Parade is definitely a terrible idea!
I don't have my copy yet, but I know it made me LAUGH OUT LOUD! I can't wait until the pigs are in THE PIT!
ReplyDeleteI am always on the look out for a FUN read aloud for persuasive writing!! It will be fun when the kids hear it in the pit first and then I can use it in our classroom in our writing workshop.
ReplyDeleteHow absolutely fun!! Thanks so much for sharing; I can't wait to read it myself.
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