00010538

Summary: It is Boris the bear's first day at his new school, and all he wants to do is make friends. But his large, hairy appearance makes all of the other children afraid of him. Boris tries to play with the children and fit in, but he is still too big and scary. On the way home from school, the children run into the mean rat pack. Boris goes to say hello to them, but they run away out of fear. This causes all of the other children to be very grateful for Boris. The next day at school, the children are not afraid of Boris anymore and accept him for who he is. After reading this story, students will be able to understand the importance acceptance and getting to know someone before you judge them.

Genre Critique: This is a good example of a fantasy, as there are aspects of the story that would not occur in the real world. The animals in the story are personified, being able to talk, go to school, write, draw, wear clothes, etc. just as humans do. Even though this part of the story cannot be true, students will be able to remember their first day at a new school and relate to how the bear felt scared and left out. Students may have also dealt with feeling like they do not fit in well with others in some way. The context of the story is also believable, as it takes place in a school setting that appears to be very realistic.

Media: watercolor ( )

After being rejected on his first day of school, a grizzly bear becomes very sad. However, he gains new friendships after protecting the other students. This book would be a great read on the first day of school.

Great for all ages. Book about fitting in. Children can write about different things they can do to fit in at a new place.

New bear comes to school and his much bigger and hairy than everybody else. Nobody knows how to act first but at the end the classmates learn to accept him and the big bear fits in. Good lesson for young kids! ( )