"Ben's Dream" -Chris Van Allsburg

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Book Title:
Ben’s Dream
Author/Illustrator:
Chris Van Allsburg
Type of Book:
Picture Book
Age Level:
6-9
My Star Rating:
***


Summary

• Ben was studying for his geography test, when the sound rain put him to sleep. In his dream he traveled to the world monuments he would be tested on.

Chris Van Allsburg
Image taken from this Cite.

My Thoughts

• What a creative idea. This book allures the audience with new thoughts about the world. As Ben falls asleep, his dreams carry out, and give a broader perspective and exposure to the worldly wonders he was supposed to be studying. Most of the story is told by the illustrations, due to the fact that there are plenty of text-less pages. We follow his journey to the different wonders by interpreting the illustrations, and developing the plot on our own. The line drawings are fantastic and captivating, Van Allsburg really out does himself. 

 

How to use in the classroom?

• This book could be used to help start off a geography unit on the wonders of the world, or it could also be used in an art lesson. The illustrations are made of pastel line drawings. As an art lesson, this book could be a model for the children’s own line drawings. The book is very well designed to show how light and dark mix to illustrate emotion, and establish moods, kids could be prompted to try and show emotion and mood by shading and creating their own illustrations. The class could even form a line drawing book complied of all their artwork.

Image taken from this Cite.

More Resources

1. For more teaching ideas Click Here.
2. For more about the Wonders of the World Click Here.
3. For more about the Author/Illustrator Click Here.