I was delighted to see these wonderful teaching ideas related to No Monkeys, No Chocolate on the Teachers for Teachers blog. I love the notion of encouraging readers to ask themselves “So what?” as they read a book and “Now what?” when they are done.

It never cease to amaze me when readers–kids or adults–see things in my books that I didn’t even realize were there.

A few weeks ago, I was visiting GHR Intermediate School in Coventry, CT. A smart fourth grader told me that No Monkeys, No Chocolate reminded her of Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I couldn’t see the connection and asked what she thought the two books had in common.

“Multiple points of view,” she bravely responded. “The bookworm dialog in your book offers a different point of view from the main text, just like the alternating chapters in Wonder.“

“Wow,” I responded. “That’s a great observation.”

And it was. That girl was really thinking deeply about what she was reading and making stunning connections.