The Junkyard Wonders

Polacco, P.(2010).  The junkyard wonders. New York: Philomel Books.

This is another exceptional story told by Patricia Polacco!  It is about a little girl named Trisha that decides to move to a new school so she wouldn’t be “different” anymore.  However, when she arrived at the new school, she found out that her new class was called “The Junkyard.” She was so distraught over this because once again she was being labeled.  Nevertheless, Mrs. Peterson, her new teacher, wasn’t going to allow the labels to affect the lives of her students.  She allows the students to see exactly who the kids truly are through their talents.  You’ll have to read this book to learn about its great theme. 

Patricia composes her illustrations by using many diagonal and upward moving lines which creates a scene that is full of action and emotion.  She creates such a realistic picture through the warm color palette and texture. This makes you feel like you could just jump right into the page and become a character in the story.

This would be a excellent book choice to teach theme because of its great theme.  I know that every class has some students that will be harsh to other students around them and this story could help them think twice about their actions.