Pocket for Corduroy

Title: Pocket for Corduroy
Author/Illustrator: Don Freeman
Publisher: Viking Juvenile (March 6, 1978)
Genre: Chilren's Picture Book
Readability Lexile: Ages 3-8
Summary and Target Audience:
The adventures small Corduroy continue in this new tale.  Corduroy is brought with to the laundromat and sees that he does not have a pocket.  He desperately wants one and goes searching throughout the laundromat without the knowledge of Lisa.  Without knowing where Corduroy went, Lisa and her mother are forced to leave because it is closing time.  Corduroy spends the night at the laundromat having adventures and exploring and Lisa returns to save him from a pile of soap while taking the time to repair his lost button.  This is suitable for ages 3-8 and anyone who may have liked the first book in this series.

Evaluation of the Text:

Is this a good story- The story, in my opinion, isn't anything special.  It is easy to read but I did not enjoy the dialogue he had with himself and Lisa.  He was very staunchy and wish-washy with what he thought and although I loved the first book of Corduroy this one wasn't something to write home to mom about. the story did include various characters, a problem, some interesting situations, but other than that there wasn't any excitement.

Characters seem real- Lisa, the little girl who bought Corduroy, seems very real in the affection she has towards her bear.  The mother also seems very real in that she has forgotten how important the small stuffed animals in our lives become.  Corduroy was kind of believable in that he is always getting lost but the concept of a bear leaving its "rightful owner" to explore doesn't really fit the bill for me.


What did the author want to tell me- I believe the theme of this story was that if you would like something all you need to do is ask.  Had Corduroy explained how he felt about not having a pocket, Lisa would have gladly helped him and he wouldn't have been left in the laundromat.

Literary Elements:

Exposition-  The author does not go into a great deal of background information because it is assumed that the reader has read the first book, Corduroy.  Lisa is a young girl who purchased the toy bear in a department store whom no one had wanted to buy in a very long time.

Tone- The tone of this story is explorative in my opinion.  There is no great danger but many different things to explore in the laundromat.  If students haven't ever been in one this would be a good introduction.  "He landed paws first in an empty laundry basket. "This must be a cage, he said peeking through the bars."

Setting-  The setting for this story is the laundromat, as mentioned above.  Corduroy experiences all of the different items in the laundromat, including a soap box, laundry basket, and being washed by a stranger. ""Before he knew it, Corduroy was being tossed together with all the sheets, shirts, shorts and slacks... inside the dryer."

Illustrations:
The illustrations for this text are quite enjoyable.  for each page the author has taken the time to give the characters some life and expression which helps with the story.  He also did a very nice job of depicting the various elements of a laundromat and including different characters one may run itno there including a caretaker.

Mini-lesson:
This would be a great book to read on the first few days of school or during a share and tell time.  Students could bring in one of their favorite items and write a story about an adventure their stuffed animal may have been on when they were gone (purely imaginative, of course).  They could practice writing it from the stuffed animal point of view.