Monday, March 15, 2010

Luba and the Wren by Patricia Polacco




International Literature
3rd, 4th, or 5th grade


This story is about a small child from Russia named Luba. Luba lived in a small farm house with her father and mother. As she was walking through the forest one day, she heard a bird crying for help. Luba, with her kind heart, helped the bird. Because Luba helped the bird, he granted her with a wish. When her parents heard of this they told Luba to wish for a bigger house for their family. Just like the bird promised he granted Luba with her wish. Luba's family soon became obessessed with gaining a larger house and gaining power and kept asking the bird for more and more wishes. It was not until Luba's parents asked to be gods that the bird took the family back to their small farmhouse. The family discovered that this small house is were true happiness was.


I absolutely love the illustrations in all Patricia Polacco's books. After reading this story aloud to students I will use it for art. I will have the students create an illustration that could be used in Luba and the Wren. Any materials in my classroom would be open for their use but I would remind them that the point of the illustration is to use the same techniques as Polacco. I would encourage students to do some research on the techniques she uses before beginning their illustration.
Using this book would serve two purposes. It would introduce students to Russian culture and give them an opporunity to focus on the illustrations as much as they do the story.

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