Lawyers

This is such a simple premise, with limited text, few illustrations, and a seemingly short narrative overall. Yet it all blends so well to create a light-hearted, humorous, and unusual tale. ( )

Various people appear before the judge, all warning of a horrible creature about to appear. He dimisses them all, despite the fact that their stories all match and become increasingly alarming. We have some fun dramatic irony since we see the monster on the book's cover - too bad you're not listening to them, judge! Cartoony line-drawn illustrations with watercolor.

five people are sent in front of a judge for telling a story about a horrible creature that is coming to town. The judge does not beleive them and sends them all to jail. It turns out that at the end of the story the prisoners were telling the truth and the horrible creature ends up eating the judge.

This was the first time that I have read this book. I liked how the story went with each person adding an discription to the montster. I was very suprised with the ending and I am not sure that I would read it to the younger crowd.

classroom ideas:
1)have the class write a story on a time they were telling the truth but no one believed them.
2)using the discriptive words in the story draw your own picture of what the creature should look like.

Summary: This book is about five individuals that are brought before a judge and found guilty because they spoke of something that no one believed. In the end the judge believes.

Personal Reflection: I was reading this book to my three year old since he wouldn't allow me to read it to myself and in the end he didn't get it but he enjoyed being read to. There is a right age and a wrong age for this book but over all a good book. It would be a great conversation starter.

Extentions:
1) Classroom discussion about respecting others and there beliefs.
2) Writing/ Art assignment, before during and after.
3) Journal personal experiences with similar situations, or about what the student was thinking as the book was being read.