Module 2: Picture Book 7

Author	Eve Bunting
Title	The Wednesday Surprise
Illustrator	Donald Carrick
Readability Score	Grade level equivalent:  2.9 Lexile Measure: 540L DRA:  24
Genre	Fiction
Subgenre	Realistic Fiction
Theme	This book explores the importance of family.
Primary and Secondary Characters	Anna, Grandma, Mom, Dad, Sam
Award(s) date of publication	1989
Publishing Company	Clarion Books
ISBN Number	0-89919-721-3
Brief Summary	Every Wednesday, Grandma comes over to babysit seven year old Anna while the rest of the family is away.  During their days together, Grandma and Anna secretly work on a surprise for Dad’s upcoming birthday.  On Dad’s birthday Grandma and Anna reveal their big surprise…Anna has taught Grandma how to read.
Picture of book cover
Description of how you would use book with students	This book would work well in an author’s study of Eve Bunting.  Many of her books center around close familial relationships.  The Wednesday Surprise is no exception and serves as a reminder of the importance of family.  It could also be used as a mentor text for a writing assignment about a special family celebration.  Thoughtshots and Exploding the Moment would be excellent revision strategies to use in a writing assignment based on this particular book.