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Module 6: Tell Me the Day Backwards


Summary: I'm sure that at some point in your life you've tried to recall everything you did in one day as you laid down in your bed.  Or you've tried to trace your steps backwards to remember where you place some keys or other important things.  Well, this story does both of those things.  In this tale, as the young bear goes to sleep, the mother bear asks her cub to tell her everything that the cub did that day, but to tell it backwards. The cub starts at the most recent event then traces his steps throughout, all the way to the morning when he had woken up from hibernation.  This most likely tires out the cub and gets him wound down to help him fall asleep.

Reference: Lamb, A. (2011). Tell me the day backwards. Somerville, MA. Candlewick Press.

Impressions:  I was touched by this story because I'm a parent of a 4-year-old and I enjoy sharing her discoveries of the world around her, through all the things she sees and experiences.  I could then easily imagine my daughter as the little cub going to bed talking about the things she did that day.  I can only imagine the challenge it would be for her to tell it to me backwards, but it would definitely be fun.  I think this is a great bedtime story and that Albert Lamb had this exactly in mind when he wrote the story.

Professional Review: 
Gentle storytelling and a clever concept set this bedtime book apart from the pack. A little bear asks his mama to tell him what they did that day, only backwards. Together, the two of them recount Timmy’s adventures and quiet moments, from taking an unexpected dip in a pool to eating some delicious honey to seeing a pack of beautiful purple butterflies. When they’ve gone through the whole day, back to the beginning, Mama reminds Timmy that before anything happened they were hibernating but that tonight they’ll just sleep one night. Inspired by a game his own family played, Lamb’s simple effect-and-cause backwards progression manages to always make perfect sense. “I ran and jumped off a high, high rock into the deep pool,” Timmy recalls. “And before that?” prompts his mother: “I was chased by bees, and they were stinging me!” Kids may take a couple readings to fully grasp the author’s intent, but few books illustrate the notion of “before” better than this. McPhail’s always playful and evocative illustrations set against a beautiful countryside perfectly capture this original way of remembering a day’s events. An exceptional idea and a truly fine follow through. (Picture book. 4-8)
Author unknown(February 2011). [Review of Tell Me the Day Backwards, by Albert Lamb]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/albert-lamb/tell-me-day-backwards/
Library Use:  As an English teacher, I think a great lesson could be devised using this book to teach about all the past tenses: past progressive; present perfect simple; past perfect simple; and past perfect progressive. The students can hear the story then challenge themselves by writing out their a certain day in their life or as a journal entry at the end of the day.  Plus, this can be used as a perfect example of cause and effect.  It could relate how certain events led to other events and how those events caused the events that followed.  Either way, this book provides oodles of writing assignments for all grade levels.

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