Individuality for Young Children Can Be a Challenge as Experienced in a Fun Read Aloud With Laurence the Bunny

All parents with small children can relate to the time when your child decides that they want to begin showing their individual preferences. Letting go is hard! Picture books are a great tool for parents to use in teaching life lessons. Picture books for young children can open the door for a conversation in any topic that families will encounter. Vern Kousky's Lawrence-the Bunny Who Wanted to Be Naked is a hilarious read aloud to share and learn that letting go when the time is right can be a little easier if compromise is made.

Mama Bunny has always loved to dress her little Lawrence in beautiful clothes. She has always loved to use bright colors and fancy fabrics. She has always loved to use the latest styles when she makes and chooses clothes for her little bunny son. Lawrence has other ideas. He wants to be like all of the other little bunnies and be naked! Lawrence is forced to continue wearing those silly clothes and shoes that his mother loves to sew for him. Lawrence has a great idea to solve his problem. Parents and young children will have fun with the plan that Lawrence carries out to try to make his mom stop making those crazy clothes. His plan is successful and there is a surprise compromise at the end of Lawrence's story.

Pastel illustrations make this picture book engaging as the story unfolds. The text is written in short sentences to make it easy for young children to follow the story.

Lawrence-the Bunny Who Wanted to be Naked is recommended for ages 3-7. It was published by Schwartz and Wade Books, a division of Random House Children's Books. It has an ISBN of 978-0-525-64665-5.

Picture books were always my go-to tool to teach concepts in my early childhood classroom. Early childhood teachers have the opportunity to help parents teach life lessons and parents are very appreciative of caregivers and early teachers who help in fostering independence in their young children. Vern Kousky's Lawrence-the Bunny Who Wanted to be Naked is a fun read aloud for storytime sessions in your early childhood classroom. Fun activities to enhance the story experience can also be planned to extend the reading enjoyment.

*Read Lawrence-the Bunny Who Wanted to be Naked in a story time session. Call attention to all of the colorful clothes that Mama Bunny has made for Lawrence.

*Call attention to the patterns and colors of the clothes. Patterns are always a fun concept for teaching several concepts in an early childhood classroom. There are polka dots, stripes, circles, heart shapes in the fabric that Mama Bunny uses. There are several illustrations that can be used to discover patterning as a math skill.

*Bring in a variety of real fabric with patterns similar to the fabric that Mama Bunny uses to make clothes for Lawrence. Provide an opportunity for children to discover the patterns in the fabric that you provide. Sorting the fabric into pattern categories is also an early math activity that is part of the early childhood curriculum.

*Engage the children in a discussion of the problem that Lawrence has. Why does he want to be like all of the other little creatures? Engage the children in a discussion of how they want to be like their friends and show independence in making decisions apart from their parents.