The Box Turtle
Picture Book Read Aloud
book summary
Terrance is a turtle that was born without a shell. It never seemed to bother him that he didn’t have a shell. Terrance just used a cardboard box instead. The box seemed perfect for him because it kept him dry, gave him a place to hide, and even had enough room to invite a friend over. Terrance loves his box until…he gets picked on for his different looking shell. After his shell was called weird, Terrance started to think that he could find a better shell. He sets off on a journey with his best friend, a hermit crab, to find a new shell. Terrance tries on lots of new shells from a mailbox to a lunchbox to a jack-in-the-box and even a treasure chest, but nothing seems to fit his style and personality like the cardboard box did.
On his journey, Terrance looked hard for the perfect shell, but came to realize that he had had the perfect shell all along. This is a precious story about finding the confidence to just be you! And to top it off…the turtle is adorable…those little pink cheeks!
suggested teaching point
On page 18, use the illustrations to help support making an inference.
If you have been watching the illustrations carefully, you have seen a little crab hanging out with Terrance. This little crab has not been mentioned in the text. He is only been seen in the illustrations. In picture books, the illustrations are often just as important to the plots of the stories as the text. Make an inference. Based on what you have seen in the illustrations, what can you tell about the crab? What kind of character is he? What evidence in the illustrations supports your inference?
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