Pierr Morgan

Summary of Book- This picture book called The Turnip, Dedoushka the farmer wants to harvest his giant turnip but he is having trouble pulling it out of the ground by himself. He eventually has to call for help from his wife, granddaughter, dog, and even his cat. They all take turns pulling. They still are unable to pull the turnip out. The dog finally asks the small field mouse to come help. The rest of them questioned the dog in doubt that the mouse would not be able. Finally, the little field mouse pulled that turnip right out of the ground.

Personal Reaction- I really enjoyed this book. I thought that the pictures conveyed the message being told very well. I enjoyed the colorful pictures and how the characters symbolized what people back in the day would look like. This book taught a valuable lesson that you should never judge someone by their size. If they would not have asked the little field mouse to come help they might have never got the turnip out of the ground.

Extension Ideas-
1. The children will create a timeline of events that occurred in the story.
2. As a class we will form groups and discuss times in our lives that we thought that someone couldn’t help us because of their size. Then, I will call on each group to share one story that they discussed. I will then remind them that size isn’t everything and that it is what is inside that matters and our motivation inside of us is what pushes us to do something.… (mer)