The Thingamabob

The Thingamabob

By Il Sung Na

Randomhouse Children's Books, 2010

Grades: K, 1, 2

Synopsis: One day, elephant finds a thingamabob but he is not quite sure what it is or how to use it. He asks his friends, but no one knows.  He tries to fly with it, sail in it, and hide behind it but none of these seem to be the thingamabob's purpose. It isn't until it starts to rain and elephant notices it is a perfect rain shield that he discovers the thingamabob is really an umbrella.

Jump: To practice visualizing, cover the book with paper or newsprint so the students are not able to see the illustration on the front. During reading, students should be encouraged to visualize what the thingamabob might look like or what it might be. After reading, students should guess what the thingamabob was before the illustrations are displayed during a second reading. Students could then create their own thingamabob and give good clues as to how it would be used. To hide their own illustrations, a piece of paper could be folded in half and the description/story placed on the outside while the illustration is placed on the inside.