The Great Fuzz Frenzy is one my favorite picture books, especially for the first week back to school. A friend introduced the book to me years ago. She taught 3rd grade and I taught 1st, but all the children loved it, regardless of their age. It’s a lively read-aloud and a great conversation starter for topics like:
- selfishness
- teamwork
- and forgiveness
…just to name a few. I think you’ll love it too!
ABOUT THE STORY
The Great Fuzz Frenzy is about a group of prairie dogs who get tangled up in fuzz when a tennis ball accidentally lands in their burrow. Get familiar with the book before you read it out loud and be prepared with a couple different voices, especially for Pip Squeak and Big Bark. Your kids will be glued to you.
The story actually begins on the title page and dedication page. I love when authors do that, so don’t skip too fast over those parts. They give clues as to how the ball ended up in the burrow.
When the ball lands underground with a big PLUNK (lots of sound words in this book), the prairie dogs aren’t sure what it is, where it came from, or what to do with it. But after much pondering, they decide it isn’t going to hurt them and they start playing with it. And (you guessed it) the great fuzz frenzy begins!
All the while, Big Bark does not think this is a good idea, which he makes abundantly clear to them.
All’s well until the fuzz runs out. The prairie dogs start arguing about who has the most and the once-friendly community becomes greedy and unkind. They fuss until they’re tired and fall asleep. But later, when they wake up, they notice all their fuzz is gone. Big Bark has stolen the fuzz!
Well, Big Bark is making such a ruckus, he’s snatched up by an eagle. But, like a good group of friends would do, all the prairie dogs rally around him and save him. Of course he’s super thankful, everyone learns their lesson, and life is happy again.
Or is it?
We love the teaser on the last page!
Check your school or local library first, but if you can’t find it (or you just want your own), HERE’S THE PAPERBACK version.
Happy teaching!
MORE BACK-TO-SCHOOL POSTS
Sounds like a fun book that my class would enjoy – I bet they'd have fun writing a story in imitation with a different object landing in their burrow! Thanks for sharing!
Growing Little Learners
This book is darling!! We discovered it a few years ago….the kiddos LOVE it because the prairie dogs are so funny! Great pick!
🙂 Tamra and Sarah
First Grade Buddies
Sounds cute! It's definitely going on the book list!
I LOVE this book!! Picked it up through Scholastic a few years ago, and my kinders LOVE using this book during Read to Someone Else time!! Thanks so much for sharing such a great book!!
Warmest Wishes, Erin from Kindergarten Dragons