Picture book from multiple points of view?

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Picture book from multiple points of view?

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1McNeil
Mar 28, 2008, 12:07 am

I am looking for a picture book or short story that presents a single plot from multiple perspectives. When I started my mental list - The Alexandria Quartet by Durrell, The Pigman by Zindel - I realized these would not be accessible for my 9-11 year old students. Any suggestions?

2SunnySD
Mar 28, 2008, 11:47 am

We just added a picture book illustrated by three different artists titled Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude that might just fill the bill if it's not too young. The illustrations are DEFINITELY disparate in style.

3McNeil
Mar 28, 2008, 5:41 pm

The book looks like a great start. Not too young. It would be a great introduction for what I have in mind. Now if I can find a longer work that does the same thing at a slightly higher level I'll be set.

4fabtk
Mar 28, 2008, 11:50 pm

It's been a while since I read it, but I think Anthony Browne's Voices in the Park tells the same story from 4 viewpoints. It's a picture book, but sophisticated enough to be suitable for the age group you've got.

5Ilithyia
Apr 1, 2008, 2:29 pm

Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow tell the same story from different points of view. Though that's two books and probably older than you're looking for.

6globalgypsy
Apr 13, 2008, 2:37 pm

I second the Voices in the Park book. I've used it with middle school students.

7extrajoker
Apr 14, 2008, 12:23 pm

An advanced Amazon search turned up Great Books for High School Kids: A Teacher's Guide to Books That Can Change Teens' Lives by Rick Ayers and Amy Crawford.

I know you're looking for stories geared to a younger audience, but I thought perhaps this book's chapter on the "Rashomon effect" could at least be a sort of jumping-off place for you:

The Rashomon Effect: Fiction and Nonfiction Told from Shifting Perspectives: How it matters where you stand

Alvarez, Julia: How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent
Alvarez, Julia: In the Time of the Butterflies
Dorris, Michael: A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
Fadiman, Ann: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
Gardner, John: Grendel
McBride, James: The Color of Water
O'Brien, Tim: The Things They Carried
Pollan, Michael: The Botany of Desire
Straight, Susan: Highwire Moon
Tan, Amy: The Joy Luck Club
Wideman, John Edgar: Brothers and Keepers

8extrajoker
Apr 28, 2008, 2:38 pm

Also, I found this list:

http://www.webrary.org/rs/flbklists/Multiple.html

Again, this is YA fiction, but some titles may work for you.

9mamasigs126
May 25, 2008, 10:46 am

Black and White by David Macauley is essentially wordless and only by piecing together the 4 stories do you get the real story. Complex enough to keep that age group engaged.

10minerva66
Oct 19, 2008, 1:05 am

Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman is a book with short chapters about a community garden. Each chapter is told by a different character, relating to their reaction to and participation with the garden. It should work for 5th grade and up.

Click by 10 authors (Linda Sue Park, Nick Hornsby, etc) is a story about a deceased photojournalist and the lives he has touched. Each chapter is told by a different author and from a different character's point-of-view. It is YA, so may not work for you. It would only be the level of reading. I believe it could be used to read aloud for 9-11. You might want to pre-read.

I know I've read more, but can't think of any now.

11fabfic-terrificteens
Oct 19, 2008, 2:57 am

I suggest Shaun Tan's The arrival. It is wordless, and is one of the most complex books I've ever read! It tells the stories of a wide range of people who come to an un-named land in search of somewhere safe to live, as well as giving you the story of what their lives were like, and why they had to flee. There are many pictures on each page, all sepia toned, and the stories intersect each other.