Peter Goes On Vacation

This is an original story inspired by Ezra Jack Keats' stories featuring Peter, one of the first African-American characters in picture books. These Peter stories include classics such as "Peter's Chair," "A Letter to Amy," "Goggles," and, "Whistle for Willie," and "The Snowy Day." PS 347's 1st grade students dictated the story after reading many of Keats' books, examining his collage artwork, and discussing Peter's character traits during library class. The facilitator for the story writing project was Library Media Specialist Sara Lissa Paulson. 1st grade teacher Cheritha Saulsby added direction and support. 1st grade teacher Adam Stone coached the students (the majority of whom use ASL as their home language) on presenting the story in American Sign Language. Dave Bowell, current principal of PS 347 The ASL and English Lower School, actively supports the library's digital book publishing efforts, as well as the school's ASL-English dual language program. Our school is located in New York City.