Skip to main content

The Story of Ferdinand


The Story of Ferdinand 

By Munro Leaf with Drawings by Robert Lawson

Summary: In Spain, there lived a bull named Ferdinand. As a calf and as a full grown bull, he liked to sit underneath a cork tree and smell the flowers. One day, some men came to his pasture to search for the fiercest, fastest, and strongest bull to fight the Matador. While all of the other bulls began to run around and fight each other to show off their skills, Ferdinand calmly strode to his favorite cork tree and began to sit down. But he was not expecting to sit on a bee! When he did, he ran around jumping and snorting because it hurts so badly! The men saw Ferdinand and decided that he would be the one they would take to Madrid. 
When the day of the fight came, everyone in the stands were excited to see "Ferdinand the Fierce." But when they let him into the middle of the arena, he simply sat there and smelled all of the pretty flowers in all of the ladies' hair. The Matador and others tried to get him rilled up, but nothing would do it. The bull just sat and sniffed the flowers. Because of this, Ferdinand was taken back to his pasture where he sat, once again, under his favorite cork tree and smelled the flowers.

Review: This a classic tale that many generations have loved and cherished and generations to come will enjoy it as well. It is a great book to read aloud and is also great for individual readers. It has beautiful black and white drawings that add to the story. I would suggest this book to 1st-2nd graders.


-The Green Eyed Reader

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tar Beach

Tar Beach Written & Illustrated Faith Ringgold Overview: This is a beautiful quilt story about a girl who lies on her "tar beach," her rooftop, with her family. She talks about how her father is a construction worker and looks for new work for lengthy amounts of time. The little girl decides that she is going to fly over the union building, the ice cream factory and a great bridge so that they will be hers forever. I believe that she means this in a figurative manner, in a sort of dream. She takes her little brother with her at the end and they fly with their eyes closed.  The paintings in this book have an unclean, but beautiful nature to them. This book provokes deep thinking and even has some historical events in it that would be great to explain to a classroom. 2nd graders would enjoy reading this book by themselves.   To order your own copy:  https://www.amazon.com/Tar-Beach-Faith-Ringgold/dp/0517885441/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512013031&a

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie By Laura Joffe Numeroff & Illustrated by Felicia Bond Summary: This is the tale of a boy who had a mouse as a friend and the boy gave him a cookie. Of course the mouse wanted milk to go along with the cookie, so he asked for some of that too. When the boy gives the mouse the milk, he wants a straw as well, and then a napkin to clean himself up with. Over and over again the boy will meet the mouse's need, but then it turns into another and then another! The story comes full circle after a hair cut, a nap, and other shenanigans when the mouse is tired from all of his activities and asks for a glass of milk. Because when he asks for a glass of milk, most likely, he will want a cookie to go with it! Review:  This story is a cycle and is one that is endearing to all ages. With the illustrations and easy vocabulary, it is great for read aloud or individual student readings.  would recommend this to K-1st grade students because there are a lot o

The War That Saved My Life

The War that Saved My Life  By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley  Summary:  This story follows the lives of a young brother and sister duo, Ada and Jamie Smith, during World War II. These siblings have grown up in the same house with their mother, who they call Mam, but with two very different lives. Jamie, a 7 year-old, is the youngest, and for the most part, has a normal life that includes going to school and playing with his friends around the block. Ada, on the other hand, who is 11 years-old, lives the life of a crippled and abused shut-in. This is in thanks to her Mam, who is embarrassed by the fact that she had a daughter with a club foot. Because of her foot, Ada cannot walk correctly and is not allowed to go outside of their London flat. However, that all changes when the Germans invade and their city is predicted to be bombed. For Ada and Jamie's safety, not only from the bombs, but also from Mam, they runaway with Jamie's local school to the countryside in Kent. H