The Story Circle Written by Diane Gonzales Bertrand and Illustrated by Wendy Martin

The Story Circle

Written by Diane Gonzales Bertrand

Illustrated by Wendy Martin                                                           

After a terrible storm flooded their school, most of the classroom books were destroyed and for the first time, the school’s bookshelves were empty.

For three days school staff and volunteers helped to clean water damage and remove sludge from the school’s classrooms. The children returned a few days later to rooms with new but empty bookshelves. They didn’t know how they could enjoy their favorite part of the day without any books, their story circle.

However, their teacher directed them to sit on the new classroom rug then answered their concerns by telling them a story. They listened to her tale about a boy who learned how to fly. Afterwards, the class discussed the various pictures they had imagined as they listened to the words of the story. The students discovered other ways of enjoying the story circle, and how to begin to fill the empty bookshelves in a novel way.

Bertrand’s story not only promotes creative problem solving, it empowers young readers to use their creativity to generate stories of their own. Martin’s colorful illustrations add a lively element to the book.