The Hero of the Little Street (2010) by Gregory Rogers (grades PreK-2)

Plot summary: Action, adventure, and time travel combine in the final book of an award-winning trilogy. Narrowly escaping from a gang of bullies, a boy slips into a grand old gallery--the perfect hiding place, full of mystery and treasures. Suddenly, a painting comes to life and the boy finds himself on an adventure led by a mischievous dog that has lept from the canvas. The two slip into a Vermeer painting and are transported to Little Street, Delft in seventeenth-century Holland, where the boy has to use every ounce of his ingenuity to rescue his new friend from an untimely fate.

The third book in the "Boy, Bear" series, The Hero of Little Street is packed with thrilling escapades from start to finish. Gregory Rogers's cast of much-loved characters come together once again in this triumph of visual storytelling.  (from amazon)

Gregory Rogers is one of Australia's finest children's book illustrators and in 1995 was awarded the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal for Way Home by Libby Hathorn. His first book for Roaring Brook Press,The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard, was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year. He divides his time between Brisbane, Australia and Denver, Colorado.

Reviews:

“Rogers’ deft management of perspective and movement, his clever visual jokes and intertextual allusions, and his careful compositions demonstrate once again his masterful storytelling in the wordless genre.”--BCCB

“A delightful little excursion for busy imaginations.”--Booklist

"A superb, witty book that will appeal both to squirmy, clueless kids and educated art connoisseurs."-Horn Book, starred

“Rogers’s visual narrative is both an aesthetic treat and masterful storytelling.”-School Library Journal, starred

“All's well that ends well, as this frolic does, with a sublime comeuppance for all the bullies, then and now.” -Kirkus

Questions:

1. Will the readers/children be able to identify the places in the books, one street in London and one street in 17th century in Holland? If not, how can we introduce the information to our young readers, before or after the book sharing?

2. What do you think of the theme of the book? What does the author/illustrator want to express? Is it a simple celebration of fun, imagination and fantasy work?

3. How do you think of such a wordless picturebook with lots of information included in one page? What is the age range for the book? What can teachers do with this wordless picturebook?

4. There is an obvious point of shuttling between imagination and reality. How will you design activities around this for children/young readers?

5. What do you think of the author's way of dealing with the topic of bullying?