Module 2: The Story of Ferdinand

Book Cover Image:


Book Summary:
Ferdinand was never interested in normal things that bulls like to do, such as playing with the other bulls.  He would always rather sit quietly and smell the flowers.  When five men come to the farm to pick the biggest toughest bull to take to Madrid for the bullfights the other bulls spent time showing off, hoping to be the one chosen to be in the bullfights in Madrid, but not Ferdinand.  He went to his favorite tree to sit and smell the flowers.  Ferdinand sat on a bee and when his reaction to the bee sting was him running and jumping around, he was chosen by the five men to be the bull that would be in the bull fights in Madrid.  Once Ferdinand was in the bull ring in Madrid he didn't stomp or run or act like a bull.  He sat down in the middle of the ring to smell all the flowers in the ladies hair.  He wouldn't fight no matter how much they tried, so Ferdinand got to return to the farm and his favorite tree to smell the flowers.

APA Reference of the Book:
Leaf, M. (1936). The story of Ferdinand. New York, NY: The Viking Press.

Impressions:  
The lesson that the reader learns from this book is priceless.  Don't do what everyone else is doing just because that is what we are supposed to do.  Do what makes you happy.  At first look, the illustrations were good, but they would have been more impressive if they were in color instead of black and white.  After reading the story, I actually thought that the illustrations were perfect for the book.  The pictures were well done, and they fit the story very well without being distracting and overpowering the story.  This book also gives the reader some insight into the bull fights of Madrid, which may be one of the first instances that these children are exposed to this event within the Spanish culture.  It is rare to find a story with such a great lesson and exposes the reader to aspects of a different culture, especially for this age group.  The plot was well written and the pace was fast enough to keep the children's attention.

Professional Review:

Full Text: 

Leaf, Munro. El cuento de Ferdinando. (The Story of Ferdinand) tr: by Pura Belpre. illus. by Robert Lawson. New York: Viking Press. (Puffin Storytape) 1988, c1962. 68p. ISBN 0-140-54253-1 (sound cassette and book). $12.95.

A lively, simple, and playful translation makes this classic story of the misunderstood bull who'd rather smell flowers than stomp and snort an all-time favorite for sharing in Spanish as well as in English. Also published by Scholastic in 1990.

Gonzalez, L. (2001, August). The story of Ferndinand.Library Journal, 126(13), S27. Retrieved from http://lj.libraryjournal.com/

Library Uses:
This book would be great to use in a cultural study at the library, or an all around the world series at the library.  This book would be great to read to the children during a unit on Spain.  Prepare a Spanish treat for a snack.  For a craft have the children color a flower print out, then have them attach a cotton ball, which has been previously sprayed with a lavender scented body spray, to the center of the flower.

Module 1: Winston the Book Wolf

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Book Summary:
Winston is a wolf who loves books, loves to eat them that is!  His search for books leads him to the library, but the problem is that the library does not allow wolves inside, and has a sign on the door that tells everyone  of this policy.  That sign didn't stop Winston, in fact, he snatched it off of the door and ate it!  The librarian tries to keep him out of the library, but he manages to get inside and the library staff continues to chase him and try to catch him.  A girl names Rosie helps Winston find a way out of the library without being caught by the library staff.  She brought Winston to her house and shows him that you can "taste" the words of a book by reading the book instead of eating it.  She then proceeds to teach Winston to read and his love of eating books is soon replaced by his love of reading books.  It isn't long before Winston has read through all of the books that Rosie has and he wants to return to the library to get more books to read.  Since both Rosie and Winston know that wolves are not allowed in the library, Winston comes up with a plan to wear Rosie's grandmother's clothes when he visits the library so that no one will know he is a wolf.  He is successful with his plan and is able to visit the library for more books and actually ends up reading books to the children of the library during story time.

APA Refernce of Book:
McGee, M. (2006). Winston the book wolf. New York, NY: Walker & Company.

Impressions:
I, as well as my three-year old son, really enjoyed this book.  It was nice to see characters that children were already familiar with, but in different roles than the ones that they had in Little Red Riding Hood.  Using these same characters gives the reader a sense of connection to this book because they already know these characters, and can identify them almost from the very beginning.  This helps the readers, either as children or adults, engage with this book.  The plot is very engaging as well.  The reader wants Winston to be able to enjoy books by reading them not eating them, and by the end they want him to be able to return to the library to find new books to feed his new appetite for reading.  The illustrations of the book were also very engaging.  From the scene in the library where Winston has managed to get around the librarian to get inside and everyone is chasing him, to the story time where Grandma Winston is reading to the children, the reader is given a visual image that adds to the written words of the story.  There are also pages that utilize different word placements on the page that also add to the visual element of the story.

Professional Review:

PreS-Gr 2--Winston loves to sink his teeth into a good book. Ignoring the "No Wolves Allowed" sign posted on the library door, he rushes inside for a quick nibble. Rosie, a little girl wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, helps him understand that "words taste even better when you eat them with your eyes" and teaches him to read. With his love of language, Winston quickly develops a taste for "sweet and juicy words like sunset and swoosh and rambunctious." When he runs out of books to read, he borrows a frilly dress and returns to the library disguised as "Granny Winston." He registers for a library card and enthusiastically leads a story hour session. Beck's charming crosshatched illustrations show a fairy-tale cast of characters. The clever design includes a wolf-bite-sized cutout cover. This is a delicious treat of a tale for young book lovers. Ludke, L. (2006, December). Winston the book wolf. School Library Journal, 52(12), 108. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/

Library Uses:
This book would work great in an activity to promote reading called "Take a BITE out of Reading" for Preschool through young elementary school students.  For snacks, cupcakes with words written on them either in a plain font or in a font like the one used in fight scenes in comic books that would allow the children to "eat" the words like Winston did.  Read this book to the children and have other books available for the students to check out and take home, such as a non-fiction book on alligator or sharks, or other books with animals that are known for biting.