Introducing the newest book in the Foodie Collection~ a delectable read about all the different ways to be smart~ featured in the MaiStoryBook Library Collection:

“The Smart Cookie” by Jory John & Loren Long

*~Click here to purchase your own copy of “The Smart Cookie” to start on your own reading adventure! (This is an affiliate link~ a small percentage of your purchase will go to MaiStoryBook to help create Reading Resources for your littles)

Book Synopsis/ Review

When Cookie went to gingerbread house school, she didn’t feel like a smart cookie. The clever cupcakes and brilliant rolls always knew the answers before she did, she was always last to finish her tests, and would make mistakes even when she knew the answers. However, when the teacher gives a special assignment for the students to make and bring anything of their choosing to school the next day, will a dash of creativity and a sprinkle of confidence help Smart Cookie realize that there are many different ingredients for intelligence?

The newest addition to this Foodie Series is brimming with the sweetest puns and the most delectable characters. This book is a brilliant way to help littles realize all of the different ways to be smart, and to persevere to find their passions. We are all talented and intelligent in our own way, and all forms of expression and intelligence should be valued and celebrated!

Vocabulary

• cakewalk (p. 5) something that is super easy
• half-baked (p. 15) not really good, something that isn’t completely done or finished
• bust (p. 15) something that didn’t work or happen as planned
• chaotic (p. 16) wild and out of control
• beaming (p. 24) smiling really big

Themes/ Main Ideas

• There are many different ways to be smart. Knowing all the answers in school isn’t the only ingredient for intelligence.
• Find what your are passionate about and what you love to do, and your creativity and intelligence will shine through.

YouTube Video: Guided Shared-Reading Read Aloud Example

Example of a shared-reading, interactive Read Aloud of “The Smart Cookie” – how to subtly introduce the vocabulary list words within the text, ask guided questions, and spark conversation!

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*I am a Smart Cookie* Craft

Were you *book* smart in school? If you were, perhaps school was easier for you. If not, you may have felt similar to Cookie in this story~ maybe not too smart. However, as Smart Cookie learns, there are many different ways to be smart! With our little learners, it’s important to explore different methods of learning, creating, and expression. Incorporate movement, writing, drawing, acting, and more so that littles can find what speaks to them and what they are passionate about. Once they find that passion, their intelligence can shine through! To help your littles discover their own ingredients of intelligence, check out this *I am a Smart Cookie* bookish craft inspired by the story! What ingredients will make up your smart cookie?

Materials

• *I am a Smart Cookie* Downloadable Craft Template
• Scissors
• Glue/ Tape
• Pencil
• Coloring Utensils of Choice

Directions

• Choose a ”Smart Cookie” Cover template. There are colored and black and white versions. There is a version that focuses on “Different Ways to Be Smart,” or “Ingredients of Intelligence”
• If you chose the black and white version, color it in.
• Write your name in the blank to personalize the craft. Ex) “__Maya__ is a Smart Cookie.”

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• Cut the Cookie Cover in half on the dotted line so that you have two pieces. The “Inside Cookie” will go in between the two pieces and attach them together.
• Next, choose an “Inside Cookie”. There are colored versions, or black-and-white versions. One version you can write in your own ideas on the blank spaces. The other versions are blank and you can cut and paste the idea examples included in the resource onto the blank “inside cookie.”
• If you choose to use the resource examples, cut out the different idea “sprinkles” that connect with you, and glue them onto the “inside cookie.”
• Cut out the Inside Cookie **Keep the top and bottom tabs on! Do not cut them off*

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• To connect the Inside Cookie and Cookie Cover, fold back the two tabs. Tape or glue the front side of the bottom tab to the top-back of the bottom half of the cookie cover. Then, tape/glue the front side of the top tab to the bottom-back of the top half of the cookie cover.
• Next, fold the top half of the cookie half way down, folding the inside cookie behind. Fold the bottom half of the cookie up to meet the top half in the middle, folding the inside cookie behind.

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• The inside cookie  should fold in on itself as you close the cookie cover halves to make it a whole cookie, and then when you open the Cookie Cover, your responses will be revealed! Surprise!

Enjoy Your *I am a Smart Cookie* Craft

• Share your Smart Cookie with family and friends and share and celebrate how you are smart in many different ways
• Share your Smart cookie with peers/ family and ask them how they are smart in different ways. See if you have anything in common.
• Use your craft to remind you that you are smart and have many different ways to share your intelligence and talents
• Display the crafts to inspire others and remind each other that there are many different ingredients for intelligence, and that we all have different passions and different ways we are smart

*~ I hope you are enjoying plenty of *inspiring* reading adventures this year, Mai Friends! Tag me on Instagram @MaiStoryBookLibrary or FaceBook , find me on TikTok, or contact me via email to share your own *I am a Smart Cookie* Crafts and your own reading adventures! I’d love to hear how you are changing the world!~*

Enjoy More SEL Read Aloud Videos Here!

*~Until next time, Happy Reading