SuitabookFranklin and the Big Kid
Sharon Jennings, Paulette Bourgeois, Sean Jeffrey
- Reading
- Pause when Franklin chooses the paper round and again when he spends his earnings. Ask what each choice shows about being ‘a big kid’, then compare earning money with sharing imaginative play.
- Themes
- Growing up and imitation: Franklin changes his appearance, asks for a skateboard and helps Jack because he wants to be like a big kid. The story presents imitation as something Franklin tries and later reassesses; it does not establish that becoming older in this way is praised or criticised overall.
- Responsibility and friendship: Helping with a paper route leaves Franklin without time to play pirates with Bear, until he returns with sweets bought from his earnings. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Some children may want to discuss pressure to appear older, difficult or tiring work, and disappointment when friendship time is displaced.