Chapter 2: The Library of Leaves
The Stack Coloring Page
"If you wrote a book, what would it be called?"
A close-up of book spines. The child designs the titles.
About this page
A shelf of blank book spines waits for your child to become an author. On this page kids do not just color, they invent, dreaming up titles for books that do not exist yet and lettering them onto the spines. It is a quiet flip in perspective, from consumer of books to maker of books, and it plants the idea that the library shelf has room for their voice someday. Titles also make kids think about what a book is really about, a first brush with summarizing. It is one of the most creative stops in the Library of Leaves.
The research skill
A tall stack of patterned books waits with blank spine labels, ready for your child's own titles. Writing a good title practices summarizing: squeezing the main idea of something into a few words. Researchers do this constantly, with titles for papers, labels for data, and headings for notes. It also helps in Chapter 2's library work, since titles are how we find the right book on a shelf. In school, your child will title stories, drawings, and science projects, and later write summaries of everything they read.
Try it at home
Choose three favorite picture books your child knows well. Cover each title with a sticky note or a strip of paper. For each book, ask your child to invent a new title that tells a stranger exactly what happens inside, like "The Sleepy Fox Who Could Not Find a Bed." Write their titles on the paper strips. Then uncover the real titles and compare. Which title gives away more? Which would help someone at a library pick the book? Let your child choose a favorite.
Talk about it while you color
- What is the title of your favorite book on this shelf, the one you just made up?
- If you wrote a book about your family, what would you call it?
- Which of your invented books would Curious Bunny want to read first?