Author: Chris Van Allsburg
Genre: Picture Book
The Sweetest Fig starts talking about a very frugal, selfish and rude man named Monsieur Bibot. He is a dentist and wants to eventually be rich and not have to deal with people. He also has a dog named Marcel who he is not very nice to either. One day, Bibot gets to work and this women needs some dental work but she is not on the list. He decides he will do it anyways, not because he is nice but because he wants more money. After the procedure, the women informs him that she does not have any money to give him but she gives him two figs that will "make his dreams come true". Bibot is not happy and kicks her out of the office, but keeps the figs. That night, he decided to eat one of the figs. It was one of the sweetest figs he had every eaten. The next morning, he woke up and took Marcel for a walk. That day was incredibly awful as all his dreams from the night before came true, including walking around town without his pants. That night, he decided to use the last fig for his own selfish dreams. He spends the next week practicing dreaming about being rich. When he finally decides to eat it, Marcel jumps on the table and eats it himself. ... The next morning, Bibot wakes up confused about what happened, he goes to talk but all that comes out is a bark.
I thought this book was incredibly cute. I actually laughed at the end. I wasn't really expecting that. The author made the ending unique. He didn't just tell the reader that the dog and dentist had changed places. This book took place in Paris. Books that take place in different countries are very useful in the classroom in allowing students to experience different books. This book will definitely be in my classroom!
I think that this is a great book! As I was reading through your blog I did not expect the ending either. This aspect of the book is what will help bring children to reading and keep them engaged. This would be a great read aloud book as long as you committed to sound effects! Great Post!
ReplyDeleteAs an extension you could bring figs into the classroom for students to try. I know that you've never eaten one so this may be the case for many kids.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds hilarious! I didn't see that coming at all! I could really see myself using this book as a read-aloud for the younger grades. I also like foreign books, and I agree with you that they add different cultural aspects to the classroom. I will be looking into this one for sure!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this story and I thought the illustrations were great! Going off of your idea of teaching students about different countries, it would be cool to have a designated bookshelf for foreign books or books about different parts of the world. You could even have weekly read alouds and each week have a book that takes place in a different country.
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