The Orange Horse, by Hsu-Kung Liu

 


Description from the publisher (Reycraft Books): 

"An orange horse is desperate to find his long-lost brother, but the only clue he has is one half of an old photo. The horse decides to advertise, but the answers he gets leave him feeling hopeless. Then, one day, the orange horse meets a brown horse and they immediately become good friends. Coincidentally, the brown horse also has one half of an old photo. Could he be the long-lost brother the orange horse has been searching for?"

Text Features: 

  • Fictional picture book
  • Some bolded keywords (salient nouns and emotional vocabulary)
  • Explores an expansive concept of family (and is great for introducing the concept of "chosen/found" family and what it means to really belong)
Critical Literacy Suggestions:

Read & Discuss: 

  • BEFORE reading discussion ideas:
    • What do you think the Orange Horse's family might look like? Why do you think that?
    • Do you look like the people in your family? Why or why not?
    • Why might someone not know what their family looks like?
    • Do you need to be biologically related to someone for them to be part of your family?
  • AFTER reading discussion ideas:
    • Where did the Brown Horse and the Orange Horse meet? What made this a good place for them to meet? 
    • Why did the Brown Horse and the Orange Horse want to be brothers so badly? (discuss what it means to belong and why it's so important)
    • Why did the Brown Horse and the Orange Horse tape their photos together? 
    • What did the Brown Horse and the Orange Horse realize about what makes a family? How can you use this lesson in your life? (use the book's lesson to identify ways to increase belonging in different groups -- with friends, in the classroom, outside of school)
Write & Act: 
  • If you were to write an ad to try to find someone who you'd like to add to your family, what would you include? Just like the Orange Horse ends up realizing, think about interests and personality traits that make you enjoy being around someone, whether they look like you or not. Share your ad with a friend.

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