James Marshall

Second grade is reading books by James Marshall in small groups. Students are delighting in the stories in Fox On The Job, Fox At School and Fox And His Friends.  Students learned about the life of James Marshall before reading and discussing these books. They learned a very interesting fact. Some of the books are authored by James Marshall and some by Edward Marshall. It turns out they are the same person. James Marshall was under contract with one publishing company and wanted to publish a book with another company- causing him to publish under the name Edward Marshall.  James Marshall was a musician and originally wanted to study viola but injured his hand. This changed his goal of being a professional musician and he studied Spanish in college and then taught Spanish at a Catholic school. He then became an author and illustrator. His first book was George and Martha.  It is interesting to think about the path that some people's careers take and the different kinds of work one might do in one's life.

Most of James Marshall's books are humorous and one can't help but chuckle while reading. Students are discovering the rich vocabulary in his books, predicting and revising their predictions while reading and  making connections. They are also discussing and writing about the setting, characters and  problems and solutions that are found in his stories.  The following link on the Carol Hurst site has a list of other books by James Marshall and interesting facts about his life. http://www.carolhurst.com/newsletters/42enewsletters.html