Southwest Children's Literature

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The New Engine/La máquina nueva

The New Engine/La máquina nueva was read to a third grade classroom. The students were very enthusiastic about the story and readily participated when they were asked questions through the reading. They enjoyed the illustrations very much, noticing detail and commenting on the uniquness of them. They were especially interested as a result of the author being from their own hometown, Tucson, Arizona.

After it was explained that in the story the new engine was a metaphor for change. The students were then asked to illustrate their own "beast" in relationship to their own experiences of change. They were allowed to do this using their own creativity and many chose to illustrate memories that have intimidated them such as visits to the dentist and scary movies.

 

This image shows a child who is dreaming about Chukie, It, and Grimlins.

My beast is Chuckie, It, Gremlins, and Lake Placid. -Emmanuel

This image shows the student imagining a clown without one leg.

Mi bestia es un payaso sin pierna. Ivan

This image shows a boy thinking about his personal beast, an alligator.

My beast is an alligator. Bryan

The image shows a student imagining the character "It" from a movie

The Beast is It. Jennifer

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