PPBF: Rock What Ya Got

Happy PPBF; did you celebrate Global Character Day this week?

I was invited to speak at a breakfast for administrative leaders

at Harmony Schools in Houston; afterward I got a student-led tour

of their School of Innovation from some middle-school friends

who were oozing with PRIDE with their every step. 

Not only was their mission in the halls and on the walls,

making their vision visible and their purpose palpable,

but I could feel it in their hearts as I watched them walk the talk.

It was an incredible day, one I won't soon forget.

I loved watching these superheroes rock what they've got!

To match that incredibleness, check out today's PPBF pick.

Title: Rock What Ya Got

Written by: Samantha Berger

Illustrated by: Kerascoët

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Birth Date: September 25, 2018

Suitable for ages: 4-7

Themes: growth mindset, empathy, empowerment

Brief synopsis: An artist sketches Viva on her blank canvas, but when the little drawing's very existence is threatened by the pencil's eraser, she jumps off the page to protest the change.

Opening page: Once upon a blank piece of paper, 

where anything could happen ...  

Resources:

Enjoy these 2nd-grade students' reactions in this read aloud.

Check out a Kirkus review {here}.

Share with your learners whom you admire

for rockin' what they got, like author Samantha Berger did.

Then, ask them what they rock and encourage them to illustrate it,

like first-grade Connecticut teacher Ann Gargula did.

On the back or on a separate sheet, invite them to write and draw what a teacher, friend, or family member rocks.

Doesn't it feel so much better to focus on strengths (what we got!)

instead of on our areas for growth (what is not.)?

Why I like this book: It's absolutely adorable.

The cover hooked me; page by page reeled me in and left me cheering for Viva, with every addition, every adaptation, every change. As she confidently pleads her case, to appreciate her and love who she is instead of trying to change her, her spunk and sass endeared me to her and made me want to join her crusade.

The illustrations are colorfully joyful, especially on the pages that the young artist imagines what she could do to make Viva better.

Your younger readers will want to chime in

and chant along with Viva's repetitive refrain:

Rock what ya got and rock it a lot.

Your older readers will likely connect with the creative twist at the end, 

when we find out what the artist herself almost forgot.

{You'll have to turn the page yourself, to find out what that surprise ending is.}

Check out this newcomer, then get yourself a sketchbook or whatever it takes, 

let your imagination go wild, and Rock What Ya Got.

After you order yourself a copy of this gem,

head on over to Susanna Hill's blog 

to check out today's other PPBF recommendations.