- Kiss the Cow! by Phyllis Root
- Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
Set Up and PrepareYou may wish to record student's thoughts and ideas on chart paper.
Have students talk about Annalisa's decision to disobey her mother, and the consequences. Tell students you'll be reading another book, and they should be thinking about how it is similar to Kiss the Cow!
After reading Strega Nona, allow students time to talk about the similarities and differences they notice between the two books. Some questions to help during these conversations:
"Has your curiosity ever gotten you into trouble?"
"Did Annalisa have good intentions? Did Big Anthony?"
"How are the endings similar? How are they different?"
Come up with a similar scenario and write a class poem for the "spell." Give students time to write their own tale with someone's curiosity leading to trouble. Have students generate ideas for a class book.
Oliver Finds His Way by Phyllis Root