I AM THE TURKEY

A compelling illustration of a nervous child in a turkey costume draws the reader into this mid-level early reader from the I Can Read series. The multi-ethnic children in a second-grade classroom are assigned parts in a Thanksgiving play by their African-American teacher, Ms. Willow. The first-person narrator, Mark, gets the part of the turkey, much to his chagrin. When the pilgrim narrator gets sick (on stage) and can’t finish his lines, Mark saves the day (and the play) by improvising his own humorous conclusion. Spirn succeeds in creating a funny story with some real drama that kids will enjoy, complemented by Allen’s appealing children in costume. This effort will work well for early readers and as a read-aloud for Thanksgiving story time, or even as an introduction to a classroom theatrical production. Anyone who has ever been involved in a school play will appreciate this well-told story illustrating that the show that must go on. (Easy reader. 5-8)