Welcome to the Book House of Horrors!

If you went into a House of Horrors, what do you think might be inside that would scare you?  A ghost?  A witch?  A vampire??  Not if you were a book!  If you were a book, you would be frightened by things that could damage your pages, hurt your cover, or even break your spine!

My first graders have been creating a story about a Book House of Horrors.  They began by examining books from the library's "Sad Bag".  I asked them to discuss with each other what might have damaged these books, and then we came up with a list of "horrors" (fruit punch, dogs, rain and scissors, to name just a few!).  Then each student drew a picture that showed one of the dangers that a book might face if it's not kept in a safe, special place!  They created these illustrations on white paper using oil pastels, and then in art class they brushed black watercolor paint over the entire page.

Not only did the colors POP, but it also made the drawings look as though the setting was really inside a dark, scary house!  (Thanks for the great idea, Mrs. DiFranco!)

Dog attack: Before

Dog attack: After!

Back in the library, the students used a "Beginning - Middle - Ending" chart to organize the sentences of the story.  Then we brainstormed some details we could add to make the story more interesting.  Since they're learning about the five senses in health class, I had them try to imagine what the characters might have seen, heard, smelled, felt or tasted.  (Yes, we actually managed to include taste!)  Finally, we recorded the story so that we could watch it as a video using PhotoStory for Windows.  I hope you enjoy the students' work, and please remember...

Always keep your library book in a safe, 

special place at home when you're not reading it.

Don't let YOUR home become a 

BOOK HOUSE OF HORRORS!

ABOVE: story by Mrs. Austin's class

BELOW: story by Mrs. Gigliotti's class