Book Talk #3

The book this week is The Bad Seed, by Jory John!

I love a book with a message, and this one does not disappoint!

1. First Person Narration

   This book is written as though the main character is the one who is telling the story. It's a good example of using first person narration to tell a story. Some of our learners may have trouble using pronouns like 'I, me, we, you, he, she, him, her' in a way that grammatically makes sense for their sentences. Reading books that model first person narration can be a great way to expose learners to pronouns like 'I, me, we' in a way that feels natural.

Reading books with first person narration also is a good exercise in perspective taking - is your learner able to understand how/why the main character is feeling and acting a certain way? Perspective taking is a key element of empathy, and I think our world could use more of that!

2. Idioms

   Calling someone 'a bad seed' is an idiom - it's a saying that has a meaning other than the literal. Except in this book's case, we really are talking about a literal bad seed. Jory John has a whole series of idiomatic books - the smart cookie, the good egg, the cool bean, etc. In each, the main character is actually whatever type of food is within the title idiom. These books can be a great way to bridge the gap between literal thinking and flexible thinking, because once you've introduced an idiom in this more literal context, you can expand it to include less literal uses. For example, after reading The Bad Seed, your learner will have begun to understand the meaning behind this phrase. If you then use the same idiom to refer to, say, a villain in a superhero movie, your learner will begin to build a much deeper understanding of the idiom. Using language flexibly, and understanding what others might mean when they use flexible language, is an important part of communication.

   
   

   One thing to note is that expecting flexible thinking in all instances is not a neurodiversity affirming approach - some people's brains have an easier time processing literal language, this is a normal part of the variation from one brain to the next. A difference is not always a disability.

3. Social Emotional Learning

   The message in this book is an important one - something bad happened to the seed to make him act poorly. I wonder what your learner will say at the end of the book when you ask them if the seed is bad inside? I wonder if they'll make the distinction between 'bad' people and 'bad' actions? Something that I used to tell my students that were struggling with thinking that they were 'bad' when they made a mistake was "you're a great person. You are ___insert positive qualities here___. The action/words/behaviour that you're upset about may be bad, but you as a person are not. How can we fix what just happened?"

   
   

   It can be so easy to be hard on oneself, to begin to label ourselves as 'bad' or 'good' based on what other people say is bad about us or good about us. The message in this book is a great starting point for a conversation about the labels that we give ourselves, and the distinction between self and actions. It also shows a great model of the bad seed beginning to fix his actions - not perfectly, but with real, sustainable progress.

Some of our learners will unfortunately already have an internal label about things that they are 'bad' at, this book could be a great mirror where they may see parts of themselves reflected and represented. A message is so much more meaningful when you can identify with it.