My
newest picture book with illustrator Joyce Wan, Peep and Egg: I’m Not Trick or Treating, is the second book in the Peep and Egg series. Unlike Peep and the
other farm animals, poor Egg isn’t excited about Halloween. Egg is terrified of
witches, mummies, and vampires; there is absolutely NO WAY that Egg is going
trick or treating!
Peep and Egg:
I’m Not Trick or Treating can be a fun writing prompt in your classroom. After you read the book aloud, here are a few
ideas to try with your students:
1)
Peep
and Egg wear coordinated Halloween costumes. Peep is a butterfly, while Egg is
a caterpillar. Challenge your students to make a list of other coordinated
Halloween costumes that would be fun for siblings or friends to wear. Some
possibilities include salt and pepper, ketchup and mustard, or milk and cookie. For an extra challenge, see if students can
come up with ideas that work especially well for an older sibling and a younger
sibling, the way a butterfly and a caterpillar work for Peep and Egg. A seed and a flower, a tadpole and a frog…how
many examples can your students think of?
2)
Peep
tells Egg Halloween jokes to help Egg feel less scared. What other strategies
can your students think of for helping a friend or younger sibling who finds
Halloween frightening?
3)
As
a class, brainstorm a list of “scary” Halloween characters—monsters, zombies,
etc. Then work with your students to make each character less scary by adding
nontraditional traits. How about a monster who loves to sing songs from Disney
movies, or a zombie who wears a rainbow bikini?
4)
For
many kids, the best part of trick or treating is the CANDY. Ask your students to invent their own Best
Halloween Candy Ever. Would it be a dark
chocolate bar studded with white chocolate chips in the shape of a skull? Or a
lollipop that looks like an eyeball, with an oozing red center that tastes like
cherry cola? Anything goes!
5)
Even
though many kids find trick or treating fun, there are plenty of kids who are
scared by Halloween in general and trick or treating in particular. Can your
students make a list of other activities that are fun for some kids but scary
for others? Rock climbing? Horseback riding? Ziplining?
Peep and Egg:
I’m Not Trick or Treating reinforces the message introduced in Peep and Egg: I’m Not Hatching…that
sometimes all we need to overcome our fears is someone we love by our side. Happy early Halloween!
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