The Story of Ferdinand is a sweet tale of a bull who preferred to smell flowers rather than fight like other young bulls. Because of unforeseen circumstances, Ferdinand was chosen to go to the city bull fight against his desires. He did not perform quite like he was expected and was taken back home.
This is a story worth sharing with any age group to push the point that we all need to be who we are. It is not necessary for us to change who we were made to be just to please others. For the younger readers, it is a great story of how we can find comfort in 'home', whether that is with our mom or grandparents or.... (this would be a good moment to celebrate the diversity of students and share what 'home' means. For so many students these days, they may not find comfort in a mother like Ferdinand did.) For fourth graders, it would be a very cool project to read this story and then have children focus on the history of 'Ferdinand' as it relates to Australian history.
grade level equivalent 4.1