Felix Stands Tall by Rosemary Wells

Title:  Felix Stands Tall
Author & Illustrator: Rosemary Wells

APA Bibliographic Information: 

Wells, R. (2017). Felix Stands Tall. Place of publication not identified: Candlewick Press.

Genre: FictionLexile: AD530LPublished Date: 2017

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Summary: 

Felix Stands Tall is about a guinea pig boy who struggles to stand up for himself not only for those who make fun him but his best friend. His best friend Fiona makes all the choices and does not give him a say in anything. So much so that it almost seems like shes unintentionally bullying him too.  Felix's peers then go on to make fun of him by calling him Twinkletoes because he dances with Fiona in the talent show.  Very frustrated he goes to his mom and she suggests to stand tall but Felix does not know what his mom means by this. Fiona explains to him that standing tall means to stand up to the bully and confront them head-on.  She tells him to imagine that he is wearing an invisible suit that will protect him and give him the strength to do it. He tries what she says and it works! His bullies never bother him again and he stops letting his best friend from bossing him around all the time. 

Who Would Enjoy this book? (Targeted Audience) :

The targeted audience for this book would be students anywhere from Kindergarten to Second grade, depending on their Lexile level.  This would be a good book for small children who are just starting to learn about bullying. This also teaches students to learn to listen to the wants and needs of their peers instead of only thinking about themselves all the time. This book would be perfect for a student who likes books with a lot of dialogue and who enjoys reading books in which the characters are animals. 

Evaluation Of Text: 

I would give this book five out of five stars because overall it's a book that most children would enjoy for the following reasons.  The illustrations and pages in this book are very colorful and detailed but I do wish they were a little bigger. There is a good amount of dialogue between the characters that show the interaction between Felix and his bestfriend Fiona. I also really like the movement of words on the pages because it's not something you see in many books.  Finally, the author does a really good job at using repetitive sounds like " Snip, Snip" and "Zizz, Zizz" which makes it a lot of fun for students to read. 

Reader Response Activity: 

For this activity, I would do a small guided discussion. I would ask my students if they can relate to any of the characters or events that occurred in the book. For example, have you ever felt like one of your peers was bossing you around? and how did you handle the situation? Another question that I would ask would be, What other strategies would you use to stand tall. Felix pretends to wear an armor suit in the book. Would this work for you? Why or why not?  Have the class sit in a circle and share their ideas.