Week of December 19, James Book Project

PICTURE BOOK PROJECT based on

The Color of Water by James McBride

What is it like to be James?   Now that you have finished the memoir, you know James’s character very well.  Think back about some of the important events that happened throughout the book.  Try to see the world through James’s eyes?

Your Task:  Pretend that you are James.  You don’t want your experiences to be forgotten and you want readers of your book to understand the way you see things and the way that you think.  Write another version of your book, but this time use pictures.  In your book you get to record how you felt, the things you saw, the people you met along the way, and the experiences you had.

HERE IS WHAT WILL GO INTO YOUR BOOK

Your book must have between 8 and 10 pictures.  Each picture must be accompanied by a caption explaining what is happening and how you felt at the time.  Captions should be at least 3 sentences long.

Your story must be told in chronological order.  That means that you will have to decide which important events from his story you want to include and you will have to put them in order.

Your pictures must be big and clear with enough details that your readers will be able to see what is happening.  You can either draw scenes from the story or you can use images collected from the internet or magazines/newspapers.

Your project must be done on nice paper.  It should not be paper ripped from your notebook.  Used colored paper, make a cover for your work and put it together neatly and with care.  Try to have fun and be creative.

HOW TO PUT YOUR BOOK TOGETHER

Cover:  Your cover should have artwork on it that is clearly connected to James and his story.  It should have a title that is written neatly.  Make up your own new title.  You should also have your teacher’s name, the class, and the date in the bottom right hand corner.

Letter to the Reader:  Your book should have an introductory letter to the person who will be reading it.  If you were James, what would you want people to know about you, and about what it’s like to be you?  Give a brief explanation of who you are (as James) and what the reader will find inside the book.

Table of Contents:  You must have a table of contents.  This will tell the reader what he or she will find on each page.  Each page must have a number.

Maps: You must include maps of the areas in NY and Virginia where James and Ruth lived.

Letters to James’ mother:  Include a letter to James’ mother at the end of your book.  Make sure you edit it carefully.  It should be written from James’s point of view (Dear Mom…)

Place for comments from the Readers:  The last two pages of your book should be blank.   This is where readers can sign their names and leave comments about how they felt about your book.  Put a heading on the top of these pages that says COMMENTS FROM READERS.

Your work will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Requirement	Points	Your score
Cover:  Has title, is neat and artwork is clearly connected to your story.  Includes your name, teacher’s name, class section, and date.	10
Letter to Reader:  Introduces you, lets the readers know what they will find in the book.  This writing must be edited and checked for grammar, spelling, and capitalization.	10
Pictures with captions:  Pictures must be put together thoughtfully and they must be clear.  Captions must be well written.  They should be checked for grammar, spelling, and capitalization.	40
Maps:  include maps of the neighborhoods where James lived in NY, where Ruth lived in NY and  Virginia	10
Letters to James’ mom:  Includes letter to James’ mom.  They should be edited and checked well.	10
Table of contents, maps and comments pages	10
Total possible score:	100