Arnie the Doughnut
by Laurie Keller
Arnie the doughnut is so proud to be a doughnut and excited for all that must await him once he is chosen by a customer. Little does he know... donuts are made to be EATEN! When he finds this out, he is shocked and mortified, and will do anything to convince the man who purchased him, Mr. Bing, to spare his life. Together, the two of them try to come up with something else Arnie could do other than be Mr. Bing's treat.
The options they come up with are hilariously improbable, and the two are just about to give up when they stumble on the perfect solution--one that saves Arnie's life and leads to many happy times together.
As in her other books, Keller's pages are brightly colored and packed with funny little creatures spouting funny little puns and comments. This book makes for a fantastic read aloud, but be prepared for the students to plead for you to stop at each page and read the funny little comments. (Don't worry--they are so cute and funny, you'll want to!) Put this book in your class library so they can pour over it individually.
Arnie the Doughnut Reading Level
Interest
Level: preschool - 3rd grade
DRA Level: 30
Lexile Measure: 780L
Guided Reading Level: N
Read-Aloud vs. Individual Reading:
For kids in preschool to second grade (most of the kids in the intended audience), this book
will need to be a read-aloud rather than for individual reading, as the
reading level will be too high for them. Most
third graders should be able to read this book on their
own.
See Inside Arnie the Doughnut
Below
are some spreads from inside this book, and you can see that they
feature the central story in larger font plus comments and funny blurbs
in a small font scattered throughout the page. The result is a fun and
kid-friendly illustration style. Your kids will LOVE this
book!
Arnie the Doughnut Lesson / Activity Ideas
Although the solutions they come up with are silly, Arnie and
Mr.
Bing are very creative in their efforts to solve their problem. Point
out that both Arnie and Mr. Bing threw out a lot of suggestions, even
very silly ones, before they finally stumbled across a creative
solution that worked for both of them. That's part of the process of
creative problem solving!
Lesson Idea:
Visualizing Activity with Arnie the Donut
The
suggestions that Arnie and Mr. Bing come up with for Arnie to do
instead of being eaten are both hilarious and perfect for an exercise
in visualization. In certain parts (mainly with the suggestions on what
Arnie can do), have the kids close their eyes and "make a picture in
their minds." Ask students to describe what they are
picturing after every few options.
Activity Idea:
"My Day with Arnie the Doughnut Dog"
Give the kids each a
mini-book (blank paper stapled together) and have them draw and write
the story "My Day with Arnie the Doughnut Dog." Remind them
that stories have beginnings, middles, and ends (and maybe even have
them use a 3 column graphic organizer to lay out their story before
making the book). Talk about possible beginnings ("On my day with Arnie
we went to the circus.") and possible endings ("We had a great time at
the circus.") Then set them loose and wait for the cute and creative
results.
Arnie the Doughnut Plush Toy
Okay, this isn't an activity, but.... if you end of loving cute little Arnie, maybe consider getting an Arnie the Doughnut plush.