This book is a comic book. I am really not a huge fan of comic books and I got sort of uninterested when I started reading. But the author wants the students to open up their imagination to see that there is something bigger than just heavy books in their backpacks. I realized that if I were reading this to my class, I would need a whole lot of energy to read this book. There was a lot of onomatopoeia. I notice that Kevin O'Malley is known for comic books and books that have a lot of expressions. I think if I were to read this book with a lot of energy, this can be a great book to get the class's energy pumping. ( )

Summary: 4 separate stories, organized into 4 chapters, about backpacks. The first is a somewhat fictional history of the backpack and the following three are each a story about a volcano, a super backpack girl, and the living backpack.

Genre: Fantasy

Media: Ink drawings

This graphic novel is appropriate for the grades pre-k through third. The book is humorous and has four short chapters. Also the pictures are bright, colorful and eye catching. The book begins with the history of the backpack and how cavemen and Egyptians tried to create a backpack but failed. I.C Clearly the narrator also jokes that 21st century children do not need backpacks because they have their moms carry everything. The following chapters are even more silly stories about a volcano backpack, super backpack girl and a backpack that is always hungry.
Uses in classroom:
- I would have students create their own backpack story.
- I would have pre-k students design their own backpack.
- I would show children how to read a table of contents.
- As a class we can make a volcano.
- A lot of onomatopoeia is used in the book so I would go over that with students. I could even have students listen to a number of different sounds and write an onomatopoeia. ( )

Hilarious look at the typical school backpack in the form of four short illustrated stories: its history (previously named "packus backus"), its need to feed (loves shoes evidently), the infamous superhero "Backpack Girl", and the backpack as volcanic science experiment. Comic style illustrations and wacky sense of fun will be appealing to students. Recommended to teachers as a jumping off point to talk about point of view or for students to create their own backpack stories.

Medlar, Andrew. September 15, 2009. Booklist Online: http://www.booklistonline.com.proxy.gvpl.ca/default.aspx?page=show_product&p...