The Paper Kingdom
Picture Book Read Aloud
book summary
Daniel’s parents work overnight as janitors in a big downtown office. When the babysitter is not able to come, his parents wake him up, and take Daniel with them to work for the night. To help pass the time for Daniel, his parents start to tell him about the Paper Kingdom and the King and Queen who rule over the building and the dragons that make messes. The throne room is a large room with a long table with papers strewn everywhere. The king is nowhere to be seen. His parents warn Daniel to not upset the queen and to be on the lookout for dragons who seem to like hiding in the bathrooms. Daniel does not understand why his parents had to clean up all the messes that other people made. He doesn’t think that it is fair that they don’t clean up after themselves. Wanting Daniel to have a better life than they had, Daniel’s parents encourage him to focus on becoming the paper king in the future and ruling differently. Papa tells Daniel, “Someday you’ll have to be the king then you can sit in the throne room and tell the dragons to be nice and neat.”
suggested teaching point
On page 21, remind students that good readers look carefully at the illustrations to fully comprehend the text because in picture books the illustrations are just as important as the text.
As we have talked about before, good readers always have to look at the illustrations closely to fully comprehend what is happening in the story. Look at Daniel and his father’s facial expressions. Also, look at how Daniel’s father is holding the mop. What does this illustration tell us about how Daniel and his father are looking for dragons?
Looking for more teaching points for this book and other similar books? Check out more Interactive Read Aloud Lessons HERE
