Whistle for Willie

Citation:

Keats, E. (1964). Whistle for Willie. New York: Viking Press.

Lexile Score:  AD410L

Summary:

                This story is about a little boy who tries his hardest to learn how to whistle. He tries and tries but he isn’t able to, which makes him very sad. After practicing and practicing the little boy finally gets what he wants; to whistle.

Evaluation:

                 Overall I would say this text is definitely of high quality. The storyline itself is great. It teaches children to never give up and with enough practice they will finally be able to do what they want. It shows children to never give up and to try their hardest even if what they are doing is hard to do.

                The images in the book are also wonderful. They are take up each page fully and are drawn with just enough detail to compliment the text. Some pages have less detail than others, but those pages are great for using your imagination.

                The writing in the book is also great. The story is exactly how a kid this same age would act and feel. The words that are used are child friendly and would be a great book for learning readers to read.

Literary Elements:

Characters: Peter and Willie

Theme: never give up, always try your hardest

Tone: happy, excitement, patience

Mini Lesson:

                 For this book I would have students write about something they had to practice at to learn. I would have students write about what they were feeling at that time, and if they got it right away or if they really had to practice a lot to learn this new skill. I would then have students have a discussion about it.

Age:  5+