Before reading, ask students to predict the genre (fantasy fiction) based on the title and picture. After 2-3 pages, ask students to think about the predictions and decide if they were correct or not.

At end of story, ask students to answer “Who? Where? Problem? Solution?” questions to get at the literary elements of character, setting, problem/resolution.

Ask students what message the author was trying to get across. Try to draw out of students which passages made them think about the message of self-confidence and not worrying about what others think.

Sometimes, big words can feel tricky when we read. But did you know you can break them into smaller parts to help? By looking for parts of the word you already know, you can figure out the whole word more easily. In this text you may model this strategy with these words:

• Swallowed — Look for smaller parts: swall-owed. You might know "owed" from another word, and "swall" is the start of "swallow."
• Sideways — Break it down: side-ways. You know "side" (like side of a box), and "ways" (like different ways to do something). Put them together!
• Somersault — Find parts you know: some-er-sault. You might know "some" already! Saying the word slowly can help with the tricky "sault" part.
• Wonderful — Spot smaller words: won-der-ful. You might know "wonder" (like wondering about something), and "ful" often means "full of."
• Boogies — Break it down: boo-gies. You might see "boo" (like a ghost sound!) and "gies" makes the ending sound.

Explain that authors spend a lot of time choosing words for each book. There are many reasons to choose one word over another, such as meaning, emotion, and syllables. Read the first 3 pages and stop. Have students notice that the book (mostly) rhymes and that the author picked certain words to create a tempo in the book. Have students tap their knees along with the beat as you reread the pages. Ask if they know of other books with a rhythm?

Stop on page 12 where Gerald has negative self-talk. Direct students to look at the illustration and think about what just happened on the prior page (the other animals were mean). Ask, “How is Gerald feeling? How do you talk when you are sad?” Show how reading the passage quickly or loudly doesn’t match the tone of the story. Reread it slowly, with thoughtful pauses. Ask if that matched the feeling better. Point out that those words look different too, as the author italicized them for emphasis.

After reading, talk about the different emotions that Gerald went through during the story. The author used many words to help convey these emotions, more than just sad and happy. Have students listen in as you reread some passages towards the end of the book and raise their hands when they hear a word that shows Gerald is happy now. Here are a few that work:

Beautiful (11), amazing (15), wonderful (20)