Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways

A 2007 Geisel Award winner by author and illustrator Laura McGee Kvasnosky. The characters are illustrated as genial and good-natured while the colors are soft. The book is three chapters and three separate stories about the fox sisters Zelda and Ivy. The first chapter is called “The Runaways,” which starts with the sisters’ father making cucumber sandwiches. They do not want cucumber sandwiches, so they decide to runaway to the back yard. There they play Go Fish, write a story, and other fun stuff. Eventually, they decide to go back home where their father is waiting for them. The second chapter called “The Time Capsule” is about the sisters burying a time capsule with Ivy’s favorite doll and Zelda’s lucky jewel. Shortly, they miss their special toys and dig them up. Chapter three is called “The Secret Concoction,” which is about Zelda trying to write a haiku poem for her grandmother, but she hits a mental block. Ivy and Eugene help Zelda by creating a special concoction of creative juice. The juice surprisingly worked, and Zelda was able to finish her poem. Laura McGee Kvasnosky is known for other books with similar themes in this series such as Zelda and Ivy and the Boy Next door, Zelda and Ivy One Christmas, and Zelda and Ivy: The Big Picture.

Teachers can have students write their own adventure for Zelda and Ivy using story elements. Also, the first story can be used as a pre-reading activity for writing a haiku.

Kvasnosky, L. M. G. (2006). Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways. Candlewick Press.