Bink & Gollie

Bink & Gollie

Written by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee

Illustrated by Tony Fucile
 

Title: Bink & Gollie

Book Websites: http://www.binkandgollie.com/ or http://youtu.be/Sd3cXLHzcHA
 

Kate DiCamillo

Author: Kate DiCamillo was born in Pennsylvania and raised in Florida. Kate sees herself as a storyteller and writes for both children and adults. She currently lives in Minnesota with her dog Henry. http://www.katedicamillo.com/

Alison McGhee

Author: Alison McGhee is an award winning author who writes for children and adults. She is also a professor of creative writing at Metropolitan State University. Metropolitan State University is just one of the many colleges she has taught at. She currently lives in Minnesota. http://www.alisonmcghee.com/

Tony Fucile

Illustrator: Tony Fucile graduated from Cal Arts. He has been an animator and designed many films including the Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. http://www.animationartist.com/2000/Interviews/Animators/Tony_Fucile/TFucile.html

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: Elementary

Synopsis: Bink & Gollie is a children's book with three short chapters. The main characters are two young girls named Bink and Gollie. They are best friends, but they are very different. The book follows the girls as they buy new socks, take an adventurous hike up a mountain, and buy a pet fish named Fred. The girls each have their own individual way of doing things, but have much more fun when they are together! No matter where their adventures lead them they will always be each others marvelous companion.

Theme: The two major themes that can be connected to this book are friendship and personality differences.

Bink and Gollie talking on the phone

Pre-reading Activity: Have the students brainstorm about what they like to do with their friends. Make a class list up on the board with ideas given by the students. Read the book to see what Bink and Gollie like to do together.

Post-reading Activity: After the book is read, have the students fill out a Venn diagram about their best friend and them self. One side should be for them self, the other side should be for their best friend, and the middle should be similarities they have. When the students are done they should illustrate a  picture of their friend and them doing one of their favorite activities.

Assessment: The students will be assessed on their Venn diagrams. They must include their name and their friend's name. They must also include four reasons they are different from their friend, four reasons their friend is different from them, and four reasons they are similar.
 

Personal Reflection: Bink & Gollie is a great children's book about friendships and differences. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Bink and Gollie are relate-able kids who just like to have adventures and spend time together. I think this book would be great to use with students when talking about friendship, personal differences, or compromising. This book is very well written and the illustrations compliment the text on every page!