We love finding books that all students can relate to and we think Knuffle Bunny is one of those books. This makes a great book for making connections because almost all elementary aged students have or had a favorite stuffed animal. Chances are, they’ve also lost or misplaced that stuffed animal too. When students can personally relate to a story they are so much more engaged and therefore learn a lot more. - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
In this story, Trixie and her father have an errand to do and she brings her favorite stuffed animal, Knuffle Bunny. They go to the laundromat and Trixie gets to help her father by putting clothes and money into the machine. As they walk home, Trixie realizes that Knuffle Bunny is missing. She can’t talk yet so she tries to show her father how unhappy she is by crying but he doesn’t understand.
When they arrive home, Trixie’s mother asks where Knuffle Bunny is and her father finally realizes why she was so upset. The family runs back to the laundromat and looks everywhere for the stuffed animal. When they find it, Trixie is so excited she says her first words, Knuffle Bunny!
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
If you are planning on reading Knuffle Bunny to your class, check out these lesson ideas. We’ve selected the skills and strategies that we think the book is great for teaching.
- Analyze the illustrations in this book and why the illustrator made certain choices.
- Stop every so often as you read the book and ask students to make predictions about what might happen next.
- Have students write about their personal connections to the story.
- Ask students to write how-to books about an errand they know how to do.
- Teach a mini lesson on time order words and how students can use them in their own writing.
- Practice using words that have prefixes.
- Teach students about using non-verbal body language to communicate feelings.
- Share strategies for managing stress and anxiety.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
We spent the time reading Knuffle Bunny and deciding what it can be used to teach. We’ve designed a variety of lessons that are specific to this book so teachers just need to grab the book and start teaching.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- Bob, Not Bob by Audrey Vernick and Liz Garton Scanlon
- A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Loren Long
- Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes
- I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
