Bonaparte Falls Apart by Margery Cuyler

Title: Bonaparte Falls Apart

Genre: Fantasy and Scifi

Author: Margery Cuyler

Illustrator: Will Terry

Major awards: N/A

Age group: PreK-3

Summary: 

This is a fun book about Bonaparte, a school-aged skeleton. Bonaparte has a little problem staying put together. As a skeleton, his bones fall apart a lot. With school around the corner, he worries how his bones will stay together. With the help of his friends, Bonaparte meets a dog. His new pet, is the perfect fetching sidekick! 

Why would I use this book in the classroom: 

As a future educator, I'd use this book in my classroom to read to students during the first week of school. Students could definitely relate to Bonaparte's feelings towards starting school. I think that the friendship displayed in the book, is perfect to show students the value of kindness. Bonaparte's friends helped him as much as they could. The characters model what good friends are like. 

Appropriate grade level:

I think an appropriate grade level for this book is PreK-3rd. Although Bonaparte is a skeleton, students will be able to relate to him. I think that the fun monster characters lighten up the mood in the book. Kids will find this super fun. 

Ideas for unit of study to include the book in and how you might use the book in the classroom:

• Language Arts/Art: I would use this book to teach a lesson on comprehension. I'd lead an activity so that students can describe a problem in the book, along with its solution.