Ezra Jack Keats is my favorite children’s author. Although the illustrations of his stories have a decidedly 60’s look the story plots have a timeless appeal to all children and especially children of inner city or low-income neighborhoods. Ezra Jack Keats is the first picture book author to make black or Hispanic children the main characters.

Ezra Jack Keats was born on March 11, 1916, to poor Polish-Jewish immigrants in East New York, which was then the Jewish section of Brooklyn, New York. He was named Jacob (Jack) Ezra Katz.
From early on it was obvious that he was artistically gifted and he even won a medal for his drawing during junior high. While he was in high school one of his oil paintings of unemployed men warming themselves around a fire won a national contest run by the Scholastic Publishing Company.

It was the time of the great depression of the 30’s and Ezra’s family was very poor. His dad was a waiter at a coffee shop. His father, although very proud of Ezra’s ability, didn’t feel that Ezra could make a living as an artist. When Ezra was just 8 years old he earned 25 cents painting a sign for a store. Ezra’s father hoped that Ezra could continue to make his living as a sign painter. Although Ezra was awarded three scholarships to art school, he could not afford to go. He had to work in the daytime to help support his family, and he took art classes at night when he could.

In 1937, he got a job as a painter of murals. After three years, Ezra moved on to work as a comic book illustrator. In 1942, he began illustrating backgrounds for the Captain Marvel comic strip.

Ezra entered the army on April 13, 1943. The army trained him to design camouflage patterns. After World War II, he returned to New York. Two years after the war, Ezra, in response to anti-Semitic prejudices of the time, legally changed his name to Ezra Jack Keats. It was because of Ezra’s understanding and sympathy of being a target of prejudice that he created his stories with characters that suffered similar discrimination.

Ezra also spent one year studying painting in Paris, France. He then went on to paint magazine covers for such magazines as Reader’s Digest and The New York Times Book Review.

My Dog is Lost was Ezra’s first try at writing a children’s book. It was published in 1960 and co-authored with Pat Cherr. The main character is a Puerto Rican boy named Juanito who has lost his dog in New York City and meets children from different sections of New York, such as Chinatown and Little Italy. From then on Ezra created several beloved stories that focused on a little black boy named Peter and his friends. Peter appears in six books altogether growing from a small boy in The Snowy Day to adolescence in Pet Show.

To learn more about Ezra Jack Keats visit here .

 

Suggested Book Sequence for Author Study

The Snowy Day (Peter plays in the snow.)
Whistle for Willie (Peter plays with his dog and learns to whistle.)
Peter’s Chair (Peter must deal with a new baby in the family.)
Letter to Amy (Peter wants to invite a girl to his party but is afraid of what the guys will say.)
Goggles (Peter and his friend must defend themselves from bullies.)

Peter is the main character in all the books above. You may also want to include Pet Show and Hi Cat in which he appears but is not the main character. I highly recommend going beyond the five basic stories listed above. His other stories build the background and community of Peter’s life by focusing on his friends in the neighborhood.

For other titles by Ezra Jack Keats visit here.

 

Suggestions for Activities and Discussions for Individual Stories
(See the section after for general discussion topics and general activities)

 

The Snowy Day

Artwork:
Trace and copy a couple of different outlines of Peter from the story. Students color in bright red. Students cut out the outline and glue to a light blue piece of paper. Model for students how to draw a line with a white crayon to show the ground. Then give students white paint to fill in the ground and paint snowflakes or mounds of snow.

Discussion:
What do you like to do in the snow? What happened to Peter’s snowball? In the story Peter didn’t feel old enough to join in the snowball fight. Why do you think he felt that? Are there any activities that you don ’t feel ready for?

Snack:
• Give students a little plate of vanilla ice cream with a skinny pretzel to use as a stick. Have them make “tracks in the snow” like Peter did.
• Eat some snowballs (marshmallows).
Movement:
Have a race to see who is the fastest to get his winter coat, boots, hat, scarf and mittens on. Discuss what might happen if you don’t dress appropriately for the weather.

Song:
Build a Little Snowman
(Tune: "I'm a Little Teapot")
I'm a little snowman,
Round and fat.
Here are my mittens,
Here is my hat.
When the sun comes out
I melt away.
See you next time
On a snowy day.
~ Author Unknown

Math:
• Draw a large thermometer and make copies for the children. Have the class use it to practice counting by 10’s and 5’s. Depending on the class they can fill in the numbers. Give each child two copies of the thermometer. Have them color the mercury line to show what a hot day might look like. Next to the thermometer have them draw a picture of a hot weather activity. Repeat for a cold day. Discuss safety with thermometers.
• Use snowballs (cotton balls) for non-standard measurement. Measure how many snowballs it takes for the perimeter of one student’s body.

Science:
Compare how long it takes for a snowball to melt at an indoor temperature vs. heated in pot and heated by being dropped in lukewarm water. Discuss the three states of water-as a liquid, solid and gas.

Literacy:
Start this activity with a discussion of things you might see on a snowy day. Purchase a large inexpensive cardboard snowman and display in the classroom. As a whole class create labels for the snowman through an interactive writing lesson. This can be done on sentence strips over 2-3 days. Students use sight words and color words to label the class snowman. Some labels might be “I see a black hat”; “We see a red scarf”; and “He has blue mittens”. The key to interactive writing is to let the students do the writing (guided by you). Let them choose the sight words and do the sounding out.

Poem:
See the snowballs,
One, two, three
That make a snowman
Just for me!
~ Author Unknown

Whistle for Willie

Artwork:
Use pre-cut triangles and squares in bright colors for students to glue on paper to create a doghouse. Next give students a smaller white square to center in the doghouse as the “door”. Give students a large pom-pom to glue in the center of the door for the dog’s nose. Once the glue has dried, instruct the students step by step in drawing a circle around the pom-pom nose to make the dog’s head, “raindrops” for ears on both sides of the head and complete with eyes and a mouth. If this is made large enough students can glue on yarn cut into small pieces to create fur.

Discussion:
Do you have a pet? What kind of pet do you have? What kind of pet would you like to have? What games do you play with your pet? Have you ever practiced a lot to learn something the way Peter did to learn whistling? Can you whistle?

Snack:
Let students eat little hot dog hors d ’oeuvres.

Movement and Extension:
• Use a whistle to start relay races.
• Practice whistling.
• Start a whistle museum with a display of different types of whistles such as slide whistles, deer whistles, bubble whistles, police whistles, etc.
• Let students pretend to be puppies.
• Play “Doggie, Doggie, Where’s Your Bone?” In this game one child is chosen to be the sleeping dog. The other kids sit in a circle around him. One of the students is given the “bone” and the “doggie” must guess who has it.

Song:
Sing the song “How Much is That Doggie in the Window?” or "Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?”

Math:
• Use a timer to time relay races.
• Have students color a picture of their favorite pet (fish, dog, cat or bird) and create a class graph of their pets.
• Use little dog biscuits to count sets.
• Use dog biscuits for measurement activities such as “How many dog biscuits long is the table?” If you prefer not to use real dog biscuits you can draw some on paper easily enough.
• Use dog biscuits with a pan balance to determine how many biscuits weigh as much as a box of crayons.

Science:
• Discuss the science of sound and how we hear. (The ear is made up of three different sections: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. These parts all work together. The main job of the outer ear is to collect sounds. After sound waves enter the outer ear, the middle ear's main job is to take those sound waves and turn them into vibrations that are delivered to the inner ear. Sound comes into the inner ear as vibrations and enters the cochlea (ko-klee-uh), a small, curled tube in the inner ear. Sound reaches the cochlea, creating nerve signals that the brain understands as sound. The brain puts it together as a song or words.)
• Make a list of beautiful vs. noisy sounds. Discuss when hearing a sound can be very important (fire and ambulance sirens, sounds of loved ones, warnings).
• Use 20 old film canisters or oatmeal containers to make sound canisters. Fill two canisters with the same type and amount of filling (making 10 pairs). Students can use them in a center for a sound matching game.

Literacy:
Make a class predictable chart of activities that students are proud that they can do with the sentence frame “I can”. Have students practice reading their sentences for a couple of days. Then cut apart their sentences and have students reassemble them on the bottom of a piece of paper. They color a picture of the activity on top.

Peter ’s Chair

Artwork:
Have a Sibling Surprise Day. The Sibling Surprise Day can conclude the author study. Make some time on the Sibling Surprise day to reread a favorite Keats’ story or two. If a student doesn’t have any siblings they might invite a little cousin or share a friend’s little brother.

As an activity during the Sibling Surprise day students can create finger paint artwork with their siblings. Make sure you have enough supervision and a couple of boxes of hand wipes at each table. Tape a plastic bag to the ends of the tables so that parents can clean hands right at the table and quickly dispose of the mess. Emphasize to students that they are guiding/teaching their siblings in this activity. They will feel a pleasant sense of responsibility.

Alternatively, you can do artwork outside if the weather is fine. Use plastic tablecloths to create areas. You can then fold the tablecloths and throw away or toss them in a garbage bag to take home to wash. You may even ask parents to lend or donate theirs. If the weather is very warm you can even have kids wear swimsuits and then play with a sprinkler/water hose to wash off.

Discussion:
Do you have any younger brothers or sisters? How do you feel about sharing toys with your sibling? How do you feel when your mom or dad gives your sister or brother more attention? Have you ever taught your brother or sister how to do something?

Snack:
Let students make a special treat for their siblings. This could be a party mix, fruit salad, decorating cupcakes, etc. Then invite younger siblings to visit and enjoy the treat.

Movement:
• Students and their siblings can play “Duck, Duck, Goose” or play in the classroom with toys and blocks.
• End the siblings’ visit with a parade outside. Use classroom (borrow enough for siblings, too) instruments to march like soldiers, stomp like monsters, hop like bunnies, etc. You can also add beans and jingle bells to film canisters to make extra shakers. Make sure you have enough supervision with the very little ones.

Song:
Sing the popular Barney song-

I love you.
You love me.
We’re a happy family.
With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you.
Won’t you say you love me too?
I love you.
You love me.
We’re best friends like friends should be.
With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you.
Won ’t you say you love me too?

Math:
Create a class book of number stories about each family. Each child will make a drawing of his family, then write a number sentence for his picture. For example, two grown ups plus three kids equals five people in my family (2+3=5). Also, one mom plus one grandma plus one brother plus one sister equals four people (1+1+1+1=4). Students can write the sentence with both numbers and as a word problem if ready. This makes a nice book to “read” on Sibling Surprise Day and is sure to be a favorite in your classroom library.

Science:
Discuss the sense of touch. Make a chart of good vs. bad ways to express the sense of touch with siblings. (Examples of good touch might be hugs, kisses, tying shoes, making a card and combing hair. Some examples of bad touch might be kicking, scratching, pushing or breaking a toy.)

Literacy:
• As a class shared writing activity create an invitation for your Sibling Surprise Day.
• Using interactive writing make a list of fun things students do with their siblings.

Letter to Amy

Artwork:
Discuss and show samples of artwork on stamps. Have students make pictures in black and white. Reduce them to close to stamp size on the copier. Have students glue their “stamps” on to envelopes.

Discussion:
Discuss students’ favorite topic…birthday parties. What’s your favorite game to play at a party? What’s your favorite place to have a party? What’s your favorite kind of cake? Who comes to your party? Family? Friends? Both? How do you feel when a family member or friend can’t make it to your party?

Snack:
Take a vote with tally marks to determine a favorite party snack and then eat it on the same day you play a party game.

Movement:
Play a party game like “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” or “Limbo”.

Song:
Sing “Happy Birthday”. Take turns inserting students’ names.

Math:
Stamps cost 37 cents. In small groups have students use coins to count out enough change to buy a stamp. As a whole class make a chart that shows the different ways you can make 37 (three dimes, a nickel and two pennies, etc.).

Science:
You will need:
• glass jar
• vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 dirty pennies
• paper towels

The Experiment
1. Fill the glass jar about 1/2 the way full of vinegar.
2. Add the salt and stir until the salt has dissolved.
3. Drop the pennies into the vinegar solution.
4. Wait 5 minutes.
5. Remove 4 pennies and lay them on a paper towel to dry.
6. Remove the last 4 pennies and rinse them with water before letting them dry.
7. Notice anything different between the two groups?

The Science Behind the Experiment:
* Chemistry is used to make dirty things clean. Some chemical reactions remove the dirt from an object. Detergents use a chemical reaction to clean your clothes and soap does the same thing to your skin.
* The pennies have a residue on them called copper oxide.
* The vinegar and salt solution loosens the copper oxide from the penny. When the residue is removed, the pennies shine again.
* The unrinsed pennies still have some residue on them. When oxygen from the air hits the unrinsed pennies a new reaction occurs. This reaction turns the pennies a bluish-green color.
* When you rinse the pennies, the residue is washed off and the pennies stay shiny.

Literacy

• Students write letters to friends using sight words and high frequency words. “Mail” them in the envelopes students stamped.
• Make a shared writing list of reasons why people have parties.

Goggles

Artwork:
Use the plastic rings from six packs of soda to make pretend goggles. You’ll need to tie yarn to the ends for the students to wear. Then have students paint a picture of an imaginary vista they see through their pretend goggles. (If you don’t have enough “goggles” you can have students complete this activity in small groups. It works best under close supervision.)

Discussion:
Has an older child ever been mean or unfair to you? What did you do about it?

Snack:
Take a vote of students’ favorite type of soda and then buy some in six packs. Use the plastic rings for goggles.

Movement:
Sometimes people wear goggles to race cars or fly in planes. Have pretend car races outside or pretend to fly a plane. You don’t need any props but a couple of old bicycle wheels or handles will help.

Song:
Sing the song “A Sailor Went to Sea”.
A sailor went to sea, sea, sea,
To see what he could see, see, see.
But all that he could see, see, see,
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea!

Math:
Note that glasses, binoculars and goggles have two lenses because people have two eyes. Count by 2’s to determine how many eyes are in the classroom.

Science:
• Explore the world of sight through a magnifying glass, microscope, telescope and binoculars.
• Read a book about eyes (Dr. Seuss has one). Discuss why some people have to wear glasses? Do you know anyone who wears glasses?
• Hold a used glasses drive and donate them to charity.

Literacy:
Make a class predictable chart based on the pattern “I see”.

General Discussion Topics

• Would you like to be Peter’s friend?
• How would you describe Peter?
• Have you ever had a similar experience to Peter where bullies were bothering you? What happened and how did you deal with it?
• What kind of neighborhood does Peter live in? How is it the same or different from yours? What do you think it’s like to live in the city? Would you like to live in a city? Country?
• How might Peter’s life be different if he lived in the country? What activities from The Snowy Day or The Pet Show might be different if you lived in the country?
• What do you think Peter will do when he grows up? What kind of job would he be good at? Why do you think that?

General Activities

• Write a journal story about a day you might spend with Peter. What would you do together?
• Students can draw a picture of where Peter lives and then draw a picture of where they live. Follow up with a unit/discussion on homes.
• Make a collage of scenes from the different stories. Have students create a cityscape for background. Give each student a template of Peter from each story that they can color brightly. They can glue their Peter to the collage paper and then draw the scene around him. Give Peter a bright red snowsuit for The Snowy Day, yellow slicker for A Letter to Amy, etc.
• Have each student bring in an item that relates to their favorite story and have classmates guess the story. (Examples of items might be a whistle, an envelope, a scarf, a stick, goggles, birthday cake, baby’s toy, and picture of a dog or their pet.)
• Follow up the author study with a pet theme. Have your own pet show.
• Follow up the author study with lessons on letter writing. Set up your own post office and have students write letters to each other and others in the school. Students can write their own letter to Amy or to Peter.
• Have a pretend birthday party for Peter.
• Celebrate Ezra’s birthday on March 11th. Tie this in to a Read Across America celebration.
• Take a class vote of their favorite story.
• “Read” one of Ezra’s wordless stories and have the class write the story. The wordless stories are Clementina’s Cactus, Skates, Psst Doggie and Kitten for a Day.
• Learn more about illustrating comic books, drawing, and oil painting. Give students an opportunity to choose one and create their own artwork in a similar medium.
• Make a bookmark with a picture of Peter for your favorite Ezra Jack Keats’ book.
• Sponsor a contest of best picture of a scene from one of Ezra’s books.