Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems (2004)

  also available in Spanish:   El Conejito Knuffle 

Trixie and her father go for an errand at the Laundromat. Everyone’s having a jolly time until on the way back Trixie realizes something. Knuffle Bunny is missing! But Trixie can’t talk, so all she can do is fuss and cry and go boneless. When they get home, Trixie’s mom knows right away what’s wrong, and the whole family races back to the Laundromat. By asking questions (using dialogic reading) at certain key points, for instance, when Trixie realizes something, you can highlight narrative skills. What did Trixie realize? What is she thinking? How is she feeling? What is she going to do now? An aside for parents: "When you ask questions about what’s going to happen next or how someone is feeling, you will help your child build narrative skills , one of the six essential skills to get ready to read."

You can get more tips and ideas at http://pigeonpresents.com/teachersguides/knuffle_teachguide.pdf.

Bonus: See if you can spot the guest appearance of the pigeon (the one who you shouldn’t let drive the bus) in this and each of Mo Willems’ books.

--Karen McElravy