The Story of Ferdinand
A picture book by Munroe LeafIllustrated by Robert Lawson
Published Viking Press, 1936; Puffin Books, 1977
Lexile: 710L
64 pages
found: a gift
This classic story was a gift for my son from friends of the family who reported reading this story as children. The book itself is 73 years old, but the story and simple ink drawings still speak to children today. Ferdinand is a young bull in Spain who is perfectly happy sitting in the shade and smelling the flowers instead of butting heads and fighting like the other bulls. A he grows big and strong, he shows no interest in going to Madrid to fight in the great bull fights like all the other bulls. But in an unfortunate misunderstanding, Ferdinand is perceived as the fiercest bull in the land and is taken to fight. How will Ferdinand deal with the grand expectations of the great bull fights of Madrid? Will he perform on demand? Or stay true to himself?
There are so many expectations in life, and children need to understand how to handle unrealistic expectations without disappointment. I find Ferdinand the gentle bull a wonderful example of having the confidence to defy stereotypes. Ferdinand knows what makes him happy and doesn’t care if that means standing out from the bull crowd.
The Story of Ferdinand is appealing to any elementary age, and could easily relate to many other subjects. The storyline is simple enough that younger students can follow and there is plenty of humor throughout to keep them engaged. It could be used to discuss the Spanish culture and how the bull fights are an ancient tradition. It could be used as a short animal science lesson on the growth and typical behavior of bulls. Most importantly, you could ask students to identify what makes Ferdinand different from the other bulls and likewise, what makes them different from other people.
