Leo the Late Bloomer

Leo the Late Bloomer

Author: Robert Kraus

Illustrator: Jose Aruego

Genre: Fiction

Ages: 3-5 years

Themes: Learning, Family, Friendship

Summary: Leo the lion is not developing at the same rate as many of his friends. He is not able to read, write, draw or speak yet. Leo's father is concerned about this, but his mother assures him that Leo will bloom in his own time. 

Pre-Reading Activity: Have students think about something that they are really good at. Discuss how they learned to do the different things and how it makes them feel to be able to do it. Let students illustrate their activity that they chose on a class poster board. 

Post-Reading Activity: After seeing that sometimes people learn to do things at different times, students may be more comfortable sharing something they are not good at yet. Allow students to discuss something they haven't quite figured out yet and then illustrate those activities on a second class poster board. Make a display using the 2 poster boards titled "We Can Do It" and "We're Still Learning" to demonstrate that it is okay for students to learn things at different rates and that everybody is good at different things. 

Reflection: This is one of my all time favorite children's books. It is a great way to expose students to the idea that sometimes you may not be able to do everything that your friends can do and that's okay. It is a great way to build students' confidence in themselves. 

About the Author:

Robert Kraus

Robert Kraus is the author of Leo the Late Bloomer and Little Louie the Baby Boomer. He lives in New York City.

(www.barnesandnoble.com)