The first days of school are around the corner. I have slowly started to head back into the classroom. The tables and bookshelves are put in place but the books haven't been completely sorted through. As I am wiping out the baskets and reorganizing, I am also beginning to pull books that I know will communicate important messages to my students over the first few days/weeks of school. I grabbed Fluff and Billy when I saw it laying on the shelf the other day. I knew I loved the characters and pictures so I decided to reread it again.
Fluff and Billy are two little penguins that are the best of buds. They play in tandem, Billy announcing,"I'm climbing up! and Fluff repeating right after "I'm climbing up!" They are fearless friends until a snowball comes in between their play. After moments of quiet and sadness, they begin to laugh and forgive. So much can be talked about in this short but important story.
Reading books about real issues that will happen in the classroom and showing children how characters handle these issues gives us a place for discussion. We can ask kids to think about the story and connect back to what we observe happening in partner work or at recess. I want my kids to feel like they can be themselves: stumble through mistakes, forgive, laugh and move on.
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