The Stories Julian Tells Visual Summary

A good way to help your students understand the book as a whole is to have them summarize each chapter first. Creating a summary storyboard for each chapter will help the students determine the importance and visualize the chapter explicitly. Then, as a class, or in groups, the students can decide on an overall summary of the book, and how they think the characters and the plot evolved.

In this activity, students will work independently or in groups. Each group/student will be assigned a specific chapter to work on. Students will review the chapter and decide on the beginning, middle, and end. They will choose the major moments that affect the plot and the outcome of the story.

Example Summary: Chapter 1: The Pudding Like a Night on the Sea

Beginning

Julian and his brother, Huey, watch in awe, as their father makes a delicious pudding for their mother. They help whenever he directs them.

Middle

The father goes for a nap, and tells the boys to leave the pudding alone. As the boys are guarding the pudding, Huey decides to stick his finger in and taste it. Then Julian does the same. They eventually end up eating almost the whole pudding! They run and hide under their bed.

End

The father wakes up and finds out the boys ate the pudding! He pulls them from under the bed and says he is going to punish them. He has the boys make the pudding again, all by themselves. The boys learn that making the pudding is really hard work.

Example Summary: Chapter 2: Because of Figs

Beginning

One birthday, Julian is given his own fig tree. His dad tells him it will "grow as fast as you grow". They plant it and it starts to grow. Julian becomes upset that the tree is growing, but he is not.

Middle

Julian started eating the leaves on the fig tree in hopes to grow. Every time a new leaf came, he ate it. Soon, Julian was growing. The tree did not grow for two more years, even though the Julian's dad tried everything to get it to grow. His dad wanted to get rid of this tree and get a new one. Julian refused.

End

Julian realizes that the tree is not growing because he is eating the leaves. He apologizes to the tree and stops eating the leaves. He dreams that with all the new leaves, his tree will grow as big as the house.

Student Instructions

Make a storyboard summary of a chapter in The Stories Julian Tells.

1. Make a picture that shows the beginning of the chapter.
2. Make a picture that shows the middle of the chapter.
3. Make a picture that shows the end of the chapter.
4. Write a sentence under each picture.