Fiction Book: Abigail the Whale

General Information:

• • Written by Davide Cali, Published by Owlkids Books Incorporated in 2016
  • Abigail the Whale is a fiction book about a little girl who is larger than the other girls in her swim class, because of this she dreads going to swim class. Abigail’s swim teacher challenges her to “think light.” This information changes her way of thinking and she begins to think this way while doing everything, even while eating her vegetables. Her new way of thinking helped her overcome bullying, gain more confidence and overcome her fear of creating big waves while diving in the pool. This book is one of the best books for the topic of obesity because it teaches children who might be struggling with obesity to think differently about the challenges they face.
  • We can incorporate this book into the curriculum by not only reading it but having the students think of challenges they may face, whether it is with obesity or not, and how they can think differently to overcome them. Abigail the Whale reading 

Core Integration:

• • After reading this book with a class, creating a poster or something visual to help the students really understand what the book is about. For example, you could draw or print out a picture of Abigail getting ready to dive in the pool and then have students talk about some challenges that they face and you can write that by Abigail’s head. Then ask students how they can think differently to overcome that problem and write it in the pool.

Standards: NHES

• • NHES 2
    • Identify relevant influences of peers on physical activity practices and behaviors
    • Describe how relevant influences of peers affect personal physical activity practices and behaviors
    • Explain how to be empathetic and compassionate toward others who are trying to maintain or increase physical activity

Standards: Common Core Literature

• • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1
    Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.6
    Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
    Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)