The Story of Ferdinand

Author: Munro Leaf https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0494943/bio
Publisher: Viking
Date of Publication: 1936
Illustrator: Robert Lawson http://robertlawsonart.com/index.html
Genre Designation: Fiction
Lexile: AD760L

The Story of Ferdinand

Summary:

This classic is about a bull named Ferdinand. He was not like the other bulls, he did not like to run and play. Ferdinand preferred to sit under Cork trees and smell the flowers. One day some people came to look at all the bulls to choose one for the bullfight. Ferdinand did not want to be the bull in the bull fight. He was going to sit down and watch the other bulls. When he sat down he sat on a bumblebee and it is stung him. When the bee stung him he jumped up and started to run around. The people looking for a fierce rambunctious bull noticed him and choose him to be in the bull fight. The day of the bull fight the people that are to anger the bull to get him mad by sticking him with pins and spears entered the ring. Those people were followed by the Matador who gives the final spear to the bull. They did not find a bull that wanted to fight they found a bull that was sitting down in the middle of the ring smelling the girls flowers. Needless to say Ferdinand did not fight that day.

Target Audience:

This book would be great for grades K-3. 

Evaluation:

It does talk about the players in the bullfight and how they are sent in to poke him with pins and spears to make him mad. This could start a discussion about animal cruelty. While bullfights are cruel, the story is about Ferdinand being different that the other bulls. He is spared because he is different. This book is also bi-lingual so there is a cultural understanding of this event that we in America may not understand. 

Reader Response Activity:
This story celebrates differences. While the other bulls are running around and being rambunctious, have the students create Ferdinand's perfect place. They could draw a meadow that Ferdinand would love to sit in.