What other ways could your students describe the items in the kitchen from the ant’s perspective? Brainstorm with them to get the ideas flowing. For example, the sparkling crystal could be a “diamond,” the strange red glow could be “fire” and the waterfall could be a river. to the ants, the grass stems are (what we would call) the woods. This book is told from the ants’ perspective. Just as with A Tale of Two Beasts that I discussed yesterday, this is a perfect opportunity to discuss different perspectives. Two Bad Ants describes the ant’s journey as beginning through these woods. The true journey and destination, however, are very clear to the reader who also has the illustrations at his fingertips: the “woods” are really blades of grass. In his words, Chris Van Allsburg explains an adventure the ants go on: through the woods and up a mountain to find a sparkling treasure. Two Bad Ants is so much fun because the illustrations are essential to truly understanding the story.

Two Bad Ants is a great example of how a picture book (with illustrations that tell half of the story) can help older students learn to write with creative word choice. Not only did this book help me when I first read it, but it also has great writing to learn from.

Just because we can read chapter books does not mean we need to cut out the picture books! I think it’s a good reminder how picture books can touch the lives of big kids. She helped calm down with a picture book, a new book that had just come in to the library. Somehow, my teacher knew how to reach me on my first truly horrible big kid bad day. I’ve always had a special space in my heart for Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg because of the memories associated with it.

Two bad ants by chris van allsburg