Clinton Gregory's Secret

 
Clinton Gregory's Secret
Written and illustrated by: Bruce Whatley
Abrams, 2008
32 pages
Picture Book

            Have you ever had a huge secret that you didn't want to tell a single person or seven secrets just from last week? Well Clinton Gregory does. On Monday he wrestled a dragon and on Thursday he taught a triceratops a new trick!  See what all else happened during the week by reading Clinton Gregory's Secret.

            Bruce Whatley is an amazing writer and illustrator.  As an adult he does a great job capturing the imagination of a young child.  Ever page is a double spread, just the pictures alone will capture the attention of many students.  Whatley uses lifelike detail on all of his pictures.

            I would use this story as a retelling to have my students tell me what happened each day. Then I would also us it to assess my student’s knowledge on how good they knew their days of the week. Lastly I would use it as a science lesson to tell my students about dinosaurs and reptiles.  First the students will separate into groups of five and sit at a table with multiple books about reptiles and dinosaurs. Then the students will have a piece of paper that will have two columns on it with one being titled reptiles and the other dinosaurs. The students will have to find different types of each and put them under their titles.