Tips for Using Yo, Jo! with children:
Talk with children about Jomar’s community. Looking at the illustrations, what do you notice about it? Who are some of Jomar’s friends and neighbors? What do they like to do? What animals are in Jomar’s neighborhood? What places are there to eat? Show children the copyright and dedication pages in the book which show a double page vignette of Jomar’s entire street without the people. Ask the children to retell each of the people that Jomar met along the way. For example, he admired his friend’s shoes at the mailbox, he played with the dog at the fire hydrant by the water pump, and he was just about back at his steps when he ran to greet Grandpa and so on…
Tips for Using Yo, Jo! with families:
Encourage families to talk with children about their own neighborhoods. Have parents draw with their children and make a map of their neighborhood using pencils, crayons, paints or cut out pieces of paper/newspaper to create collages like the book. How is it like Jomar’s neighborhood? How is it different?