The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble, Illustrated by Stephen Kellogg

Let me give you a summary of how The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash goes. Something happens. Why did it happen? Because this happened. Why did this happen? Because before that, this happened, and so the story goes. If you need to teach students cause and effect, this is the book to do it. Like other Jimmy's Boa stories, Meggie relays the day's events to her mom. In this case, her class went on a field trip to the farm. While at the farm, all kinds of events transpire. The story unwinds bit by bit as pieces of the puzzle slowly come together. Jimmy takes his boa into the hen house to meet the farm animals, but the boa scares the hens, which in effect makes a hen get so excited that it lays an egg, which makes the kids start throwing eggs, and so the story goes. Finally, Jimmy's boa does in fact eat the wash.

I enjoyed this book because of how the story unfolds. Kids will get a kick out of the variety of events taking place. I also like how this book is a story within a story since Meggie is telling the story to her mom. Throughout the course of the book, Meggie's mom asks questions to clarify the story which leads to another ridiculous explanation of everything that occurred. Perhaps students can experiment with telling a story within a story during writer's workshop and explore the possibilities. I try to remember any book that sparks ideas for writer's workshop.

The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash can be used in reader's workshop too. This is one of those books that I think it would be useful to do a picture walk with students before reading. There are so many things happening that if students get a general idea of the events in the story, it will be easier for them to follow the train of thought. Also, there are not too many words on each page, so the pictures equally tell the story. The illustrations are well-crafted, full of bright colors and pictures that add humor to the story. This book is an ideal opener for a unit on cause and effect since cause and effect examples are so prevalent. All of the events in this story happen for a reason. Whether reading for pleasure or with a teaching purpose in mind, as a teacher, you can take this story in many different directions.