Say Cheese

THE WORM FAMILY HAS ITS PICTURE TAKEN by Jennifer Frank, illustrated by David Ezra Stein is a story about planning for and having a family portrait. The problem, the worm family isn't the usual subject because they don't have teeth, hair, or color. How are they going to create a memorable family photo?

Characters: Mrs. & Mr. Worm, Emma their daughter, her brother, Mr. Muskrat the photographer, and Emma's friends Ellie, Abigail, Olivia.

Theme: Family portrait

Conflict: discovery

Perspective: Third person

Style: narrated, time sequence

Plot: Mrs. Worm laments that her children are growing up too quickly and wants to remember how they wiggle and squirm. She decides to schedule a family portrait with Mr. Muskrat.

Emma tells her friends about her family’s upcoming portrait session. In turn, Emma’s friends tell her about their experience having their picture taken and show her their family’s portrait.

Emma notices that each family’s picture is special because the family has pretty hair, bright colors, and toothy smiles. Seeing her friend's portraits, Emma worries about how her family's portrait will turn out because worms don’t have teeth, color, or hair.

To remedy her worry, Emma hatches a plan. She will have her family dress up in costumes but when they arrive at the photographer, Mr. Muskrat doesn’t recognize them. Mr. Muskrat tells them he can’t take their picture because he has an appointment with the worm family.

To prove they are the worm family, they must take off their costumes and soon discover Mr. Muskrat knew all along how to pose their family for a memorable shot that only they could create.

Setting: garden, wood landscapes