The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats:

The first of Ezra Jack Keats’ books I want to highlight is The Snowy Day . Certainly it’s one of his most popular and oldest books. In fact, this is the 50th anniversary for it! If you’re looking for a great book for winter, it’s perfect as you’re gearing up for snow days. Peter is the main character, and he spends his snow day making the most of the snow.

I would suggest beginning your author study with it. It will giving a chance to introduce Peter.

A Letter to Amy by Ezra Jack Keats:

This unit is a great get to know you set. It includes 20+ pages of activities focused on primary ELA skills in a before-during-after format as all of my units are. More details can be found using the link provided.

My second choice of books is A Letter to Amy. Every child loves celebrating his or her birthday, and this sweet book is all about Peter’s. He wants to invite Amy to his party, but is nervous she’ll say no. I think many children have these debates, and this gives you a chance to talk about including others.

Whistle for Willie by ezra Jack keats:

Our third book for the author study is Whistle for Willie. This is probably my favorite since I am a dog lover. I love making pet connections with the kids with this book. My first grade kids love it, and it’s so fun to hear your students’ dog stories. If kids can’t connect to the pet theme, almost all can connect to learning to whistle.

Goggles by ezra jack keats:

The next book includes important themes to discuss with all classrooms. Sadly, kids occasionally have to deal with bigger kids who pick on them. This book provides discussing points for what to do when you’re picked on. The boys work together to outsmart the bullies, and through discussion, you can build your kids’ conflict skills.

Included in this unit are themed pages for group discussion as well as comprehension, vocabulary, and writing options. The unit is great for mentor text lessons.

Regards to the Man on the Moon:

This lesser known Ezra Jack Keats title is great for space studies or to spark discussions of creativity. The kids in the story are so creative and they use their imaginations to describe what they feel space travel would be like.

The unit includes before-during-after activities and includes a fun glyph activity for you and your students. The unit was recently updated (2019) too.

Peter’s Chair:

The final book in my bundle is Peter’s Chair. If you have a student expecting a new baby in the home, this book is just what you need. In fact, it’s a nice one to give as a gift. Peter is not excited about sharing his things. They are special even though his body is too big for them. Like the other books, the before-during-after organization makes planning easy and effective. Your students will love it.

Once I finished up these units, I did bundle them all together. If you’re interested, you can get them all using the link below.

• Visit Ezra Jack Keats Official Website for lots of author information, story introductions, and related activities.
• Read along with and/listen to his books through Youtube [here]
• Check out Scholastic’s resources [here]
• Practice letter writing.  Set up a class post office system where a student delivers the mail each day.  (A Letter to Amy)
• Develop an Anti-Bullying Plan (Goggles)
• Create How-to paragraphs on whistling. (Whistle for Willie)
• Bring in other books-The Pet Show, Dreams, Hi Cat!, Louie, and Skates. Compare and contrast across texts with a focus on characters.
• Design projects highlighting the books. There are enough titles that you could pair students to work together for an amazing celebration at the end of your author study.