Phew, Megan Saves the Day!

        Last night I was frantically searching for books with quotes at the beginning of the book, A.K.A. epigraphs.  I tore my bookshelves apart at home, looked on the internet, and even made my plea to the blogging world.  Guess what?!?  It paid off because my dear friend and colleague Megan saved the day.  She found a few books that I was able to use to model and teach the literary text feature epigraph with, yea!

        First, let me begin with that an epigraph is a quotation at the beginning of a book, chapter, etc..., suggesting its theme.  I really believe that knowing and understanding this will be instrumental in my students comprehending and enjoying The One and Only Ivan, which we are using it as a novel study.

        Next let me share the book titles that also incorporate an epigraph at the beginning-just in case you also want to teach this lesson.

 

 feathers by Jacqueline Woodson  

"Hope is the thing with feathers

that perches in the soul,

And sings the tune-without the words,

And never stops at all

-Emily Dickinson"

Walk Two Moons  by Sharon Creech

"Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins."

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

"The heart breaks and breaks

and lives by breaking.

It is necessary to go

through dark and deeper dark

and not to turn.

-from "The Testing-Tree," by Stanley Kunitz

 

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

"It is never too late to be what you might have been. -George Eliot"

        The Harry Potter series as well as the Twilight series apparently also begin with epigraphs.  Just wanted to share in case you needed some texts to teach literary text features.