Downloadable Teacher’s Guide to Eve Bunting Books
“A string of treasured buttons becomes a metaphor for a young girl’s struggle to accept her new stepmother in this poignant exploration of love and loss. . . . Bunting has found an original way to tell an old story about making room for new memories.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Bunting trusts readers to interpret behavior and understand complex emotions without her having to provide a moral or dramatic ending. Instead,the story offers a hopeful beginning and invites readers to think about ways to remember family history.” — School Library Journal
• An American Bookseller “Pick of the Lists”
Activities
Just like Laura, the children in your class can store their memories. Create a memory string for the school year. You will need a different button for each week and a long string or thread. On Fridays discuss with the children what was the most memorable event that occurred during the week. String a button onto the thread and associate it with the event. For example: If the event was that everyone in the class passed a math test, pick a pearl button and say, “This Friday as you string a different button onto the thread, repeat the previous weeks’ memories, then add the new memory for that week.” By the time the end of the school year rolls around, the children should be able to look at the memory string and recite all the memorable events they had during the year. The children can also make individual memory strings.
Before the class breaks for summer vacation, have the children write essays about the school year, drawing on the memories from the string.
Language Arts — Writing
• Writes autobiographical compositions
Visual Arts
• Uses visual structures and functions of art to communicate ideas
Cooperative Learning
• Works with others to produce a common goal
