Reading like a Writer

We are using the picture book Come on Rain by Karen Hesse to analyze the author's craft. Students are using this detailed narrative for ideas to improve their own writing. I read it at the beginning of the school year, but reread it this week for a different purpose. Their job this week was to pick out what makes this story such a strong narrative, and I was really impressed with their responses. The third graders are starting to look at these stories through the eyes of the author and understand strategies that good authors use to make the writing the best it can be.