Take Back Bedtime

http://www.amazon.com/Lesky-Monster-Monsters-Matt-Bergin/dp/1512355313/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443626529&sr=8-1&keywords=lesky+lee

Blank Slater Emotions Chart and Activity Worksheets

Blank Slater, The Boy With The Dry-Erase Face includes activity pages in the print-on-demand version, and when the book was first launched via Kickstarter, we included dry-erase poster mats that allowed readers to explore their own emotions long after they finished the story. Now you can download the entire set of activity pages, including the emotion chart, here or here. If you can get your hands on a laminating machine, you can even turn all of the pages dry-erase for your own continued environmentally friendly use!

Included in the Blank Slater activity bundle are:

• 6 "blank face" pages on which to draw in the appropriate expressions on Blank Slater
• Magic Marker Maze -- help Blank reach Nada
• Matched Emotions -- match Blanks face with the correct word describing his emotion
• Blank Emotions Chart (pictured below) -- fill in the face that goes with the emotion

The lovely and talented Zach Wideman illustrated all of the activity pages, including the blank emotions chart shown above.

Lesky Lee Classroom Activity -- Visual Storytelling: Make Your Own Picture Book Page

Print or download a PDF of this activity!

Classroom reading coming up seemed like the perfect opportunity to craft this activity worksheet to complement Lesky Lee, Monster of Monsters and teach the kids a little something about visual storytelling.

Lessons Unlearned -- a back-to-school short by Matt Bergin

Here's an unpublished freebie for the back-to-school crowd. Wouldn't it be neat if some of my parent and teacher friends and readers had their kids take a crack at illustrating this one? If you do, please show your work at d18matt @ gmail dot com!

Lessons Unlearned

by Matt Bergin

"So, what did you learn in school today?"

I learned NOTHING in school,
and that isn’t all…
I Unlearned every lesson I’ve learned since the Fall!

I unlearned the letters A, B, C, and D,
so now my alphabet starts with E!

I unlearned the 3 numbers that come after 7,
so now I have no way to get to 11!

I unlearned that fish live under the sea.
I unlearned that monkeys swing through the trees.
I unlearned that owls fly high in the sky, sleep all through the day, and stay up all night.

I went over that lesson on owls two times,
to better unlearn that owls are wise.

Another thing I unlearned: how to tie my shoes,
all that stuff about criss-crossing laces and hoops.

I unlearned how to clean up after myself,
how to put all my stuff back on the shelf.

I unlearned that I have to eat all of my dinner.
I unlearned that not eating will make me get thinner.
I unlearned where I live.

I unlearned dad and mom.

I unlearned all my favorite stories and songs.

I unlearned that it's bedtime,
that today's at an end.

I unlearned that I miss my teachers and friends.

I unlearned that I’ll see them at school in the morning…
…right after I finish this lesson in snoring.

(Goodnight.)

Speaking of lessons--learned, in this case--it is highly desirable for an effective picture book script to function well as a bedtime story, because a tucked-in audience is a captive audience, and bedtime is the best time for moms and dads to get in some guaranteed reading. Or so I've been told. --Matt B

Bright Smile With Bite -- a sharp short by Matt Bergin

What do you think this Carlton Cass character looks like? I have my ideas, but I'd like to see yours. Show me the light at d18matt @ gmail dot com.

Bright Smile With Bite

by Matt Bergin

Carlton Cass was full of sass, 

but his teeth were dark and mucky.
He wished he had a bright white smile,
but he hadn't been so lucky.
So he asked the dentist to swap his chops
for two dozen bulbs of light,
and now his smile is 50 watts
of happy joyful bright.
There's just one gripe you're sure to hear
from smiling Carlton Cass--
no matter what he tries to eat,
all he tastes is glass.

Ghost Train -- a trip to the wrong side of the tracks by Matt Bergin

Ghost Train

by Matt Bergin

Chugga chugga booooooo!
Ghost train coming through.
Spooky Station's coming next,
Then Cryptville, Hauntington, and Mount Hex.
The Engine runs on skin and bones.
The steampipe spits out ghastly moans.
Your one way ticket's at the gate.
There are no stops -- we're always late.

Wishful Twinkling -- a shooting short by Matt Bergin

Wishful Twinkling

by Matt Bergin

When you wish upon the moon,
The wish you wish may come true soon,
But not so fast like wished on stars.
Star dreams can come true quick as cars.
But if dreams are slow in coming true,
They probably need a nudge or two,
Or maybe dreaming's not the way
To get that thing you want today.
Maybe instead of wishing bright,
You'll earn it with hard work and fight.
So twinkle twinkle, little kid,
It's not what you want, 
It's what you did!