Author Spotlight

Author: Kate Dicamillo

Books: Because of Winn Dixie, The Rising Tiger, Flora and Ulysses, The Magicians Elephant
Grade level: 3
rd
-6
th

Students will gather in the reading area to talk about our next unit, which will be an author study and
literature circles.
Students today we are going to begin a journey in literature circles! We will have 4 books from which to
choose all written by Kate Dicamillo. Has anyone read books by this author? (pause briefly for
responses). Unveil a pre made bulletin board about Kate Dicamillo and describe Kate DiCamillo to the
class. As you learn more about the author and her books, you will be able to add to this bulletin board!
What is a literature circle? It is a group formed of students who all chose to read the same book. The
students will set the assignments and discussions about the book. The teacher will give you guidelines
and a final date to have your book and assignments complete. Are there any questions? (pause to
answer questions)
We will first begin by outlining some guidelines for literature circles.
1) You will choose which book to read
2) Each group will set their own timetable and assignments
3) You will create open ended questions about your book to facilitate discussions
4) You will be respectful of the thoughts and opinions of all members of your group
Our choices of books will be The Tiger Rising, Because of Winn Dixie, Flora and Ulysses and The
Magicians Elephant.
The Tiger Rising is a story about a boy who has moved to a new town shortly after his mother died. He is
lonely until 2 eventshe finds a caged tiger hidden in the woods and he meets Sistine. Together Sistine
and Rob plot to release the tiger! What will happen in this story? It is one of my favorites, I couldnt put
it down.
Because of Winn Dixie is about a little girl, India Opal, who has moved to Naomi, Florida. Her father is a
preacher and she knows nothing about who her mother is. She is lonely until she meets Winn Dixie.
Winn Dixie helps India Opal cope with the move and meet new friends.
Flora and Ulysses is about 10 year old Flora Belle who loves to read comic books. Her mother is an
author ad hates that she reads comics. Her father lives in an apartment and Flora misses him very
much. One day Flora sees her neighbors with their new vacuum cleaner, Ulysses, and it seems to be out
of control! What will happen in this graphic novel? Will Flora become a super hero? IS the squirrel that
was sucked up by the vacuum cleaner changed?
The Magicians Elephant
Peter is an orphan living with
a soldier who had fought in
war with his father. Peter has
always felt his sister was alive
and one day when he spends
his coins on a fortune teller instead of bread, the fortune teller
tells him his sister is alive! IS it true? Will Peter find his sister
and have a family again? What will happen in this book?
I, as well as my 9 year old daughter, highly recommend all 4 of these books. They tell beautiful stories of
friendship, loss, change and taking control of our destiny. (As I am telling students about the books, I
will be passing out notecards for students to rank their choices).
Now please take your notecard and write your name on the top and the numbers 1,2, 3 & 4 like so (on
the board I write)
Susan Daniel
1
2
3
4
I will give you 7 min to flip through the choices and rank them 1 being your first choice and 4 being
your last. For example if I choose Flora and Ulysses as my #1 I would put it next to the 1 (write it on the
board). Are there any questions? (pause for questions). You have 7 minutes to make your selection
based on what you are most interested in (begin timer and walk around helping students).
Once the students have handed in their choices I will begin creating groups. If their happens to be too
many who chose a particular book as their first choice I may ask students to change to their 2
nd
. I may
also decide to only for 3 groups and use the most popular as a class read aloud. It will depend on the
group and their selection. I run a highly democratic classroom full of choices and voting. I prefer
students to feel free, comfortable and happy, I feel they will love learning!
When we begin literature circles I will pass out packets created from a mix of things I found here:
http://www.lauracandler.com/strategies/litcircleblacklines.php


General Guidelines
Circle up for meeting
Get started in one minute
Discuss quietly and politely
Listen carefully to group members
Polite Conversation Starters (from
www.laurelcandler.com)
In my opinion
Id like to add
I disagree because
I agree because
I dont understand
Im confused about
According to page
I see your point, however





Examples of open ended questions to facilitate discussion distributed to each student:
1. What connection do you make with the story or characters?
2. What message do you feel is being sent by the author?
3. Loneliness seems to be a common theme among Dicamillos characters, how is it a universal
theme everyone can relate to?
4. What feelings (happy, fearful, angry, resentment, sorrow, sadness, loneliness) did you have as
you read the story? Why?
5. How do you feel the authors words evoked (brought out) these feelings in you?
6. Where do you think the story is headed?
7. What journey is the author taking you on?
Inside each file folder is a packet which contains an assignment wheel which will be used for students to
decide what job is given to each individual in the group for the week. There are job description cards,
examples of question starters and an assignment sheet on the outside on the file folder in order to track
what is to be completed for the week. The students are given 1 month to complete the book, weekly
packets containing assignments from each student based on their job for the week will be due on
Fridays. This will help keep students accountable to their portion of reading.
A final project will be due 1 month from now. Each group will create an advertisement for their book.
Included in the advertisement will be:
1. A review of the book: What was the story about? What did you like and/or dislike about the
book? Do you recommend the book to others? This will be written as a group with contributions
from all members.
2. A poster displaying artifacts or drawings about favorite parts of the books. Basically it is a visual
to go with your review
3. As a team you will present your review, your poster in the form of an advertisement. Use your
voice to describe the book and sell it to your class mates (or if your group didnt like the book to
tell us why you didnt) You will need to use your words and reasoning for support. A simple we
like it because it was good or we didnt like it because it was boring is not sufficient.

Unfortunately I do not have a class this year. If I did I would begin this unit on Monday April 14,
2014 and it would conclude on May 9, 2014 allowing 5 weeks (minus the week of STAAR) for students
to read together, exploring the book of their choice and hopefully falling in love with reading. My
children and I have planned our own literature circle for this summer. They would like to read The Book
Thief, so I will plan to utilize what I have learned and implement it this summer.
I am also planning to create a packet inside a file folder to have ready when I have the opportunity
to create a literature circle in the future. My vision is to create a pocket or file folder with an assignment
sheet on the outside and necessary papers on the inside. I would like to use the printables I found and
laminate the question cards, job cards and job wheel so they can be reused. These will go inside each
folder. Also inside will be the necessary papers for each job. The hope is that when the students meet
each student will get a new job. This will allow students to explore the book from different angles. I am
also going to have reflection sheets inside the folder for students to fill out each time they meet with
their group. I will also create a rubric to go on the back of the packet for grading the final project.
I believe this would have been a much better way to read books in my classroom last year. Despite
the fact that we all enjoyed the books we read, they were required. Perhaps I could have allowed
students to choose books with a common theme in groups of 3 or 4.
I enjoyed this project very much and I hope to utilize everything I have learned in my future classrooms.














Reference

Anderson, N. (2013). Elementary childrens literature: Infancy through age 13 ( 5th ed.). Boston:
Pearson Education.
Candler, L. Literature circle printables retrieved from www.laurelcandler.com on April 12,
2014.
Marchiando, K. (2013). Creating lifelong readers: Student ownership and peer interaction in
literature circles. Illinois Reading Council Journal 41 (3) 13-21. Retrieved from EBSCO
April 9, 2014.
Whittingham, J. (2013). Literature circles: A perfect match for online instruction. Tech Trends
57 (4) 53-59. Retrieved from EBSCO April 9, 2014.














.Book Info Chart
ED 6318 Literacy through Literature
Fiction
(Organize the information for the books you read in a manner that will be useful to you genre folders,
author folders, grade level folders, a matrix, etc. For the purpose of this assignment, record the
information requested on this chart.)
Assignment Category: Author Spotlight
Title: Because of Winn Dixie
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator:
Publication Date: 2000
Award (if applicable): Newbery distinction, Josette Frank award, Mark Twain award
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character: India Opal
Setting: Naomi, Florida
Plot (brief!): India Opal is a lonely motherless child in a new town. She finds the first new friend in Winn
Dixie, a dog. Because of Winn Dixie, India Opal makes many new friends around the small town of
Naomi.
Theme (see Anderson, pp. 37-38): friendship, healing
Grade Level: Reading level is 4.1, it is appropriate for all ages.
How does this book build background information and/or extend knowledge? This book makes for great
bibliotherapy. India Opals mother left when she was a baby, one of her friends lost a brother recently,
all of her new friends are lonely in some way and they need each other.
Comments: I loved this book much more than I expected. It really tells a sweet story of a little lonely girl
and how she copes. It also shows how a dog can ease loneliness and bring people together.



.Book Info Chart
ED 6318 Literacy through Literature
Fiction
(Organize the information for the books you read in a manner that will be useful to you genre folders,
author folders, grade level folders, a matrix, etc. For the purpose of this assignment, record the
information requested on this chart.)
Assignment Category: Author Spotlight
Title: The Tiger Rising
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Chris Sheban
Publication Date: 2001
Award (if applicable): National Book Award Finalist
Genre: Realistic fiction
Main Character: Rob Horton
Setting: Lister, Florida
Plot (brief!): Rob is a lonely boy whose mother died recently. He meets Sistine who is also lonely and
together they cope with their issues through finding and then plotting to release a tiger.
Theme (see Anderson, pp. 37-38): death, grief, friendship,
Grade Level: Reading Level 5.4, This book is appropriate for mature third graders and up
How does this book build background information and/or extend knowledge? This book is a story about
loss and grieving. It makes for great bibliotherapy.
Comments: This is a beautiful story that I could not put down. I had to read the first few chapters to my
9 year old daughter before she was hooked. Once she was, she couldnt put it down either.




.Book Info Chart
ED 6318 Literacy through Literature
Fiction
(Organize the information for the books you read in a manner that will be useful to you genre folders,
author folders, grade level folders, a matrix, etc. For the purpose of this assignment, record the
information requested on this chart.)
Assignment Category: Author Spotlight
Title: Flora and Ulysses
Author: Kate Dicamillo
Illustrator: K. G. Campbell
Publication Date: 2013
Award (if applicable): Newbery (2014), National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature, A Junior
Library Guild Selection, ALA, Parents Choice Awards Gold Medal, Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2013
Genre: Adventure, Graphic Novel
Main Character: Flora belle Buckman
Setting: The Tickham and Buckman homes as well as in an unspecified town.
Plot (brief!): Flora witnesses the transformation of an average squirrel into a super hero! Floras
mother becomes the squirrels (Ulysses) archnemisis and Flora must rescue him!
Theme (see Anderson, pp. 37-38): friendship, adventure, family
Grade Level: reading level 4.3, appropriate for all ages
How does this book build background information and/or extend knowledge? This book details the
adventures of a lonely girl and a super hero squirrel as the girl copes with her parents divorce, and the
boy next door William copes with the remarriage of his mother and missing his dead father. This is
another excellent choice for bibliotherapy from Kate Dicamillo
Comments: I enjoyed this book, as did my 9 year old daughter. My daughter was disappointed in the
ending. I think she did not pick up on the underlying family issues and resolution. She was more caught
up in the superhero story of the squirrel.


.Book Info Chart
ED 6318 Literacy through Literature
Fiction
(Organize the information for the books you read in a manner that will be useful to you genre folders,
author folders, grade level folders, a matrix, etc. For the purpose of this assignment, record the
information requested on this chart.)
Assignment Category: Author Spotlight
Title: The Magicians Elephant
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Yoko Tanaka
Publication Date: 2009
Award (if applicable): New York Times Bestseller (not an actual award, but worth noting)
Genre: adventure/fantasy
Main Character: Peter Augustus Dechene
Setting: Baltese
Plot (brief!): Peter is an orphan who lives with a soldier who fought in war with Peters father. One day
Peter is sent to buy bread and fish, instead he is drawn inside the tent of a fortune teller. This fortune
teller tells him his sister is a live and an elephant will lead him to her.
Theme (see Anderson, pp. 37-38): Miracles, truth isnt always black and white
Grade Level: Reading level is 5.0, it is appropriate for 3rd grade and up.
How does this book build background information and/or extend knowledge? This is a magical book
about loss.
Comments: I read one review that said it was haunting quite honestly I cant use a better word. The
picture that formed in my head at the beginning was of foggy dim streets. The author used incredible
writing to draw you into the story.