Nicholas, where have you been?

After being abducted by a large bird, Nicholas Mouse begins an adventure in which he experiences first hand Uncle Raymond’s words of wisdom: “one bad bird doesn't make a flock.” Lionni’s modern fable is an excellent tool for teaching Jane Schaeffer’s techniques for writing literary analysis. The story’s moral can serve as a stated thesis that students must support with textual evidence, explaining concrete details gleaned from Lionni’s colorful mixed media collages that have been bolstered by their own commentary. Furthermore, students may also find meaning in changes in the characters’ eyes, posture, and mouths as well as the red endpages that bear the same color as the sweet red berries which feature so prominently in the plot.

Nicholas, where have you been? by Leo Lionni; illus. by the author
Primary
Alfred A. Knopf
32 pp.
Published 1987
ISBN 978-0-375-84450-8
$16.99

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