Gotcha!

I wanted to share with you an Australian picture book that is one of my favourites. It's called 'Gotcha'!

Amazon affiliate link: Gotcha!

What drew me to it initially was the beautiful expressive illustrations. The illustrator is Kerry Argent. You may be familiar with her work in One Wooly Wombat and Sebastian Lives in a Hat.

Gotcha is written by Gail Jorgenson, and tells a fun story of Bertha Bear and one black, beastly fly!

What makes it perfect for the early years, is its repeating language patterns and predictable text. There are surprises waiting on each page for the reader - my students are ALWAYS captivated with this story! Bertha makes her way through the pages trying to grab that fly, and on each page, a new animal joins in with her. It is one of those stories that builds up a trail of animals for a fun and captivating finish.

Read Aloud For Bears Gotcha

It features some beautiful rich language that makes for great story telling. I love the page that says
"On and on they went... over tufts of grass and lumpy mounds. Swat! Gotcha!"

That page is especially good for when I am introducing consonant blends! That small section includes -nt, -ft, gr, -mp, nd, sw and tch!

Love. It.

You can download a free worksheet that you may like to incorporate into your teaching and learning with this book. Students will trace their numbers from 1 to 12 in counting order to help Bertha catch that fly!