Book Discussion: Lulu and the Brontosaurus

I just finished a small book discussion with six 3rd & 4th graders about Judith Viorst’s book, Lulu and the Brontosaurus.  The kids overall found the book very good and enjoyed the comedic approach to Lulu’s tendency for tantrums.

Structure

I structure my third and fourth grade book discussions a little differently than I would for my older kids because I have found that this age group, although great about reading the book and answering questions, has a much more difficult time with the discussing part.  They can each individually answer my questions, but often have trouble piggybacking off each other’s ideas to create a real discussion.  That being said, the kids really like talking about the book itself!

Activity

After we discuss the book for 20-25 minutes, I provide an activity for the kids to do that can be integrated into the story.  Tonight we made baby dinosaurs that hatched out of eggs.  It’s a simple craft, but the kids can get creative coloring their dinosaur babies and the eggs too.  I also found a link to a maze from the same website.  It was exciting to see that the kids take a great deal of time working on their baby dinos and were reluctant to leave until they finished.  I normally only schedule these book discussions for about 45 minutes, which gives us just enough time to discuss and work on our activity.

I also gave the kids a few minutes to look at other books that I thought they might like after having read Lulu and I was pleased to see that 5 kids took books home with them!

Suggested Reading List:

• Lulu Walks the Dogs by Judith Viorst
• Lulu’s Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst
• Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo
• The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale
• The Chicken Squad by Doreen Cronin
• Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon
• Marty McGuire by Kate Messner
• Frankie Pickle by Eric Wight
• Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel
• Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon