Book Review: The Bear Ate Your Sandwich, by Julia Sarcone-Roach

** Contact us if you would like to have one of our engaging mentor text sessions come to your campus! **

 

Why I Picked It Up: The whimsical randomness of this title called my name as I was looking for newer picture books over the summer.  The idea of blaming a bear in the case of the missing sandwich was delightfully imaginative, and so I was drawn to look into it further. I was sold after seeing the sneak-peek of the gorgeous illustrations on Julia Sarcone-Roach’s website.

Why I Finished It: By now I think you know what happened to your sandwich. But you may not know how it happened. So let me tell you. It all started with the bear.  Such a great hook!  It’s impossible to not want to find out how a bear had anything to do with the sandwich. From the very beginning, Sarcone-Roach draws you in, subtly making it personal by calling it “your sandwich.” What happened to my sandwich?? How could it have happened?? And what does the bear have to do with any of it?? These questions needed answers.

Who I Would Give It To: This is a great elementary read-aloud. My two-year-old son is always asking to read “bearsanwich book”! There is a great deal of depth to this “simple” picture book, though, so I could easily see it as a mentor text for middle school.

Integration Ideas

Inferencing/Predictions/Foreshadowing

There is so much suspense here! It is perfect for having students make predictions and inferences! Even before you open the book, have the students look at the cover. Look at the bear and the longing in his eyes. There is a sandwich on the cover, still uneaten, but the book is called The Bear Ate Your Sandwich. Ask students what they notice about the cover and the title. What kind of book do they think it is going to be? Why would a bear be close enough to eat your sandwich in the first place? Have the students write down their predictions about what is going to happen on a graphic organizer or in their journals.

Then turn to the first page. “By now I think you know what happened to your sandwich.” What happened? Were they right in their predictions? What evidence do they have? Direct them to the title and the cover illustration as evidence.

There are many opportunities for the students to make predictions as the story goes on.

For example, at the beginning, the bear is waking up. He stretches and sniffs. What does he smell? Does he smell the sandwich?

No, he smells ripe berries in the bed of a truck. The text says “The scent of ripe berries drifted toward him and led to a wonderful discovery.” What was the discovery? Could it be a sandwich??

No, it was a berry feast!

Have the students keep track of their predictions, and see if they want to alter their ultimate prediction about what happened to the sandwich as they learn more information throughout the story.

Foreshadowing

Since you already know what happened, it is a lot easier to look for clues that foreshadow that event as you read the story.

Watch this video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgIZHvMWVao

Pause it after the items go by on the conveyor belt. Ask the students what they think it going to happen. They will probably be using some of their own background knowledge and inferencing skills to talk about what they know about laundry soap. The cake/pie pan is a bit of a wildcard item, but prompt students to make predictions based on their experiences or prior knowledge.

Then play the rest of the clip. Ask students if their predictions were correct, then go back and play the clip from the beginning again. Have students notice how the items on the conveyor belt gave clues about what was going to happen.

Word Choice/Visualization/Writing

The author has done a marvelous job of choosing just the right words to paint a vivid mental picture. Before showing the students the pictures, have them close their eyes as you read a selection (it might just be a sentence) aloud. Examples:

• He was being quickly swept along like a leaf in a great river.
• And the mud squished nicely under his feet.
• Your beautiful and delicious sandwich.

Ask the students which senses were used to visualize the sentence.  Students can draw and/or act out the different sentences.  Students can act like they are being quickly swept along like a leaf in a great river.  As they act out the sentence, ask students about their movements.  Have students articulate which words made them act in a certain way.  For example, you might ask the student why they are swaying as they move.  They might respond that they visualized the light leaf swaying with the water current, because of the word swept.  Make sure to always bring the students visualization (drawing or acting) back to the text.

Now students could try to emulate this author by adding sensory imagery to their own writing.  Have students find a place where they have described part of the setting.  Ask if they could add something that would help the author visualize what it actually looks like, feels like, tastes like, smells like, or sounds like.

Point of View

The surprise ending of this book introduces you to a very unlikely narrator. After you read, you can also talk about the type of narrator (first or third).