This book is super fun! It's about a boy who imagines crazy situations and comes up with creative ways to survive. On his birthday, he expects presents but gets a surprise party instead. Great for kids ages 5-9. ( )

A little boy who always imagine something tragic could happen, so he will think in creative way to escape or survive those situations, until his birthday came, he was expecting presents and people wishing him a happy birthday and he was surprise by a surprise party the only thing he wasn't ready for.
Ages 5-9
pierce college library

I used this book for effective questioning because there are a lot of moments where you can ask what the author might have meant or what the author might have been trying to say. It's all about a boy who prepares for everything, even the impossible. In the end he wasn't prepared to the surprise party that was done just for him. The end lesson was that even though he liked to be prepared for everything, somethings you just can't predict or prepare for. There is a lot to question and plenty of opportunities to do or promote the questioning. I would probably read this in a 1st or 2nd grade classroom.

Another great pattern book with a fun surprise ending - this is good book to think aloud, making predictions and starting conversations about being afraid of things - it might be something to have in your :just in case" file, as sometimes scary things happen and kids need to be reassured.

Teaching children that it is important to be prepared, the main character, Charlie, is always prepared for most unexpected events. For example, if Charlie's babysitter comes to watch him, he knows how to misbehave so badly that she will want to leave. Or, if Charlie is kidnapped by a mermaid, he will be able stop her in his fishing net. Funny events like these will keep children engaged in reading this story. They will learn what it means to be prepared "just in case" something unexpected happens. In the end of the story, Charlie also learns that in some instances it is a good thing to be unprepared- when he is thrown a surprise birthday party. The way the author wrote some of the pages in this book seemed somewhat choppy to me, so I would recommend this book for being read aloud by a teacher. ( )