Anyway.
I immediately fell in love with the book on its own merit. It stars Leonardo, a cute little monster who cannot scare a soul, no matter how hard he tries. He is quite determined to be scary and searches out the most scaredy-cat kid in the world–Sam. I won’t spoil the best part of the book, but the scaring scenario is quite entertaining (especially when read aloud to a class of kiddos). The book sweetly wraps up with Leonardo determining to be a wonderful friend rather than a terrible monster.
This is another great book for the beginning of the school year. Willem’s humorous style gives a light touch to some big subjects such as bullying, making friends, and expressing frustrations. I have used it often, both in September and later in the year when I do a full unit on friendship (usually around Valentine’s Day). It is perfect for guiding discussion towards classroom rules/expectations and for getting children to think through what it really means to treat others the way you want to be treated.
Besides some great discussion, there are many fantastic extension ideas for this book.
PHYSICAL: Play a friendly sportive game of TAG
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL: As a class, write a Resolution to be wonderful friends to each other. Create a class list of what that means and doesn’t mean. (i.e. Good friends play fair. Good friends do not cheat.)
WRITING: During a writing center or journal time, prompt students to tell about a time they felt bullied or were a bully to someone else. Cue them to write about how the situation made them feel, how it was resolved, what they would do differently if it happened again. For younger children, ask them to draw a picture of the situation, then write down their narration.
See Also:
www.mowillems.com
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