Mentor Texts for the Traits of Narrative Writing
The Ideas Trait:
• Grandpa Green written and illustrated by Lane Smith
• Jangles: A Big Fish Story written and illustrated by David Shannon
• “The Black Bear Story” (webpage) written by the Black Bear Diner
• Inside Out & Back Again written by Thanhha Lai
The Organization Trait:
• Tuck Everlasting written by Natalie Babbitt
• Over and Under the Snow writtten by Kate Messner
• Alex the Parrot written by Stephanie Spinner
• “The Lion King” and “The Lion King: Alternate Ending (wiki posts) hosted by Disney Studios
The Voice Trait:
• “Some Dude’s Fry Sauce (product description) written by Some Dude’s Fry Sauce
• Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid written by Ralph Fletcher
• Creepy Carrots written by Aaron Reynolds
• Dragons Love Tacos written by Adam Rubin
The Word Choice Trait:
• The One and Only Ivan written by Katherine Applegate
• The Word Collector written and illustrated by Sonja Wimmer
• The Scarlet Stockings Spy written by Trinka Hakes Noble
• “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)” (a movie review) written by Rotten Tomatoes.
The Sentence Fluency Trait:
• “Brady Bunch TV Show Theme Song” (lyrics) written by Frank DeVol
• Three Hens and a Peacock written by Lester L. Laminack
• Wonder written by R.J. Palacio
• Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse written by Marilyn Singer
The Conventions Trait:
• Pancho Rabbitt and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh
• Exclamation Mark written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• “10 Accidental Inventions You Won’t Believe” (blog post) written by Marianne English
• Pirates vs. Cowboys written by Aaron Reynolds
The Presentation Trait:
• Year of the Jungle: Memories from the Home Front written by Suzanne Collins
• The Plot Chickens written by Mary Jane Auch and Herm Auch
• Goodnight iPad: A Parody for the Next Generation written by Ann Droyd