Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse Discussion Guide

• PRINT
• EMAIL

Before Reading

Children will bring to this story a knowledge of mice as familiar little creatures and a love for the magic of fantasy.

As a warm-up activity, ask students to recite “Hickory Dickory Dock” with you. Write the words on the board for students who don't know them. Then, using the diagram below, ask students what they know about mice. Possible answers include: run fast, have long, thin tails, have gray or white fur, and make squeaking noises. You might wish to expand this activity by asking, “Why do we like stories about mice?”

Tell students that the story they will read is about a friendship between a real mouse and a toy mouse, and that magic plays a part in the story.

Ask students how a real mouse is different from a toy mouse. Record their responses on a chart like the one below:

Possible answers include: Real Mouse—soft body, runs by itself; Toy Mouse—hard body, has to be wound up.

Distribute copies of the book, and call attention to the cover illustration. Tell students that the title of the book is Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Ask them to identify Alexander and the wind-up mouse in the illustration.

Ask students how the two mice are different and what they think the mice will do in the story. You may wish to model the process of making predictions about the story from the illustration. You may begin by saying, “When I look at the picture I see two mice. One looks like a toy mouse. I wonder if the other mouse is real or a toy? I wonder what these mice will do?” You may also wish to point out the picture of the Caldecott Honor Book Medal on the cover and explain that this award is given to outstanding picture books.

• Scholastic Store
• 

  The Scholastic Store

  Dear Dumb Diary #3: Am I the Princess or the Frog? In her candid diary entries, sure to enthrall your preteen reader, Jamie Kelly promises everything is true - although she has her own, telltale point of view. Jamie is hiding from an admirer too gross to be mentioned, she's fallen for Hudson, and Hudson has his eyes on the Princess Turd of Turdsylvania - who some think is the prettiest girl in the school. Fun Factor In this hilarious installation, your preteen will identify with school and relationship hurdles similar to her own. $5.99 books;paperback books;paperbacks | Ages 9-12

  
  Dear Dumb Diary #3: Am I the Princess or the Frog?
  Ages 9-12 $5.99
  
• Scholastic Store
• 

  The Scholastic Store

  The Calder Game by Blue Balliett When Calder Pillay travels with his father to a remote village in England, he finds a mix of mazes and mystery . . . including an unexpected Alexander Calder sculpture in the town square.   Calder is strangely drawn to the sculpture, while other people have less-than-friendly feelings towards it.   Both the boy and the sculpture seem to be out of place . . . and then, on the same night, they disappear!   Calder's friends Petra and Tommy must fly out to help his father find him.   But this mystery has more twists and turns than a Calder mobile . . . with more at stake than first meets the eye. Learn more about Blue Balliett. $12.79 You save: 20% books;hardcover books;hardcovers | Ages 9-12

  
  The Calder Game
  Ages 9-12 $12.79