Introduction
The classroom was alive with laughter and an anticipation that was nearly tangible. The children sat on the reading rug, legs crossed, leaning forward to capture every detail from the illustrations in the book. As I read each page aloud I adopted the characters' voices, incorporated physical movement into my reading, made dramatic pauses, deliberately obscured the pictures to allow the children to visualize until all the text on each page was read, then I slowly rotated the book so each child could see the colorful illustrations, and as the children were practically leaping out of their seats in the anticipation of an ending that promised to be spectacular, I finally revealed the last page. It was October and twenty-four laughing and gasping six year old children erupted into a wild round of applause upon the conclusion of my very dramatic reading of David Shannon's Duck on a Bike , which I had explained was, in my opinion, the greatest book ever written.
Once the applause quieted I asked my students to describe the character Duck to their discussion partners. I anticipated that the children would describe Duck as clever, fearless, friendly, creative, courageous, or unique. After all, for two weeks, using two different books, I had modeled for the children how to identify the main character, the character's traits, and briefly analyze that character. After the children engaged in a brief but enthusiastic discussion I eagerly asked them to share their thinking. As I walked from group to group leaning into the circle to hear their thinking, the responses they shared were: "I like him - he's nice." Or, "He's funny."
I sat down in my reading chair; my shoulders sagged a little but I soldiered on. "Why do you think he is funny?" I asked.
"'Cause he's a duck riding a bike." One child answered holding her hands out while raising her shoulders indicating that I was clearly missing a very obvious gag.
I waited a beat. Then another. I pointed out the character traits listed on the graphic organizer chart for another of David Shannon's characters, David, whom we had read about earlier in the week in the book No, David!, as the class and I worked together identifying David's character traits and analyzing him. Then I asked a couple of additional questions to try to foster discussion leading to a deeper look into the very rich picture book character: Duck.
"What does the funny thing he is doing tell us about his character?" I asked.
"That he's funny," was the reply.
At this point I may have sunk a little in my chair and made a silent plea for the wisdom to empower my children to think deeply. I do remember wishing that I could find a way to help my children swim out of this shallow view to see the depth in the characters who made up the multifaceted stories we were reading.
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