Reviewed by Margo L. Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll [at] aol [dot] com
by gopal1035 www.flickr.com
*Chapter book, realistic fiction, contemporary
*First-grade boy as main character
*Rating: Great book for beginning chapter book readers–funny–with endearing characters. Roscoe Riley is a hoot!
Short, short summary: In Katherine Applegate’s Roscoe Riley Rules series, Roscoe Riley is a first grader who gets himself into a bit of trouble. In book two, Never Swipe a Bully’s Bear, Roscoe is struggling with whether or not he should take his stuffed pig, Hamilton, to school. His older brother says to leave it at home, but Roscoe is just not quite ready for that yet. At school, Wyatt, the first-grade bully, sees Hamilton and makes fun of Roscoe. But guess what? Wyatt has a bear, Bobo, that he brings to school. All of a sudden Hamilton goes missing, and Roscoe is sure that Wyatt has his stuffed pig. So, how does Roscoe solve his problem and find Hamilton? You’ll have to read to find out!
So, what do I do with this book?
1. In Roscoe Riley Rules #2 by Katherine Applegate, Roscoe jumps to a conclusion that Wyatt stole his bear. Your students or your children have probably jumped to conclusions themselves before, but they might not be familiar with the term. Explain what it means, and then ask students to think of a time when they have jumped to a conclusion. Depending on the age of your students or your children, you can either discuss it, draw pictures, or write in reading response journals. Making personal connections between children’s lives and Katherine Applegate’s book will help with comprehension.
2. Before you read the end of Never Swipe a Bully’s Bear, ask students to predict where Hamilton is. What do they think happened? What are some possible things that could have happened to Hamilton? Where could he be? On chart paper or on a piece of paper if you homeschool, make a list of predictions that make sense and are based on events in the book. Then read the end of the book and see if anyone predicted correctly.
3. Roscoe Riley’s teacher has a stuffed animal party. Your students can also have a stuffed animal party to celebrate finishing this book in the Katherine Applegate series. At the stuffed animal party, allow students to pick their favorite picture books or chapters of Roscoe Riley Rules #2, and read to their stuffed animals.
If you have used this book with your students or your children, then please let us know what you did with a comment here. Have you read any more books in the Roscoe Riley series?
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