Matchbox Diary & Booktalks

In the book Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman, a great grandfather tells his immigration story by showing his grand daughter a cigar box filled with matchboxes that contain objects representing his journey from Italy to the U.S. The grandfather kept the matchbox diary before he could read and write. The illustrations are warm and tender with an inviting vintage quality. Not only does the book recall the immigrant experience, it also shows the timelessness of cross generational bonding through story telling. I am planning on reading it to  5th graders this week who are doing book talks with their classroom teachers on historical fiction. I think this is a unique example of historical fiction that can provide a springboard for creative book talks. Students could create their own matchbox diary to pass around to the audience, they could connect it to a written diary by asking, "How many of you keep a diary?", or they could reenact one of the scenes from the book. It's perfect as a book talk model and I am curious to see if the students enjoy listening to the book as much as I enjoyed reading it.