From time to time, I think about Leo the Late Bloomer (1971) because it was a favourite book of a very skilled Kindergarten teacher who worked at the first school where I was appointed back in 1984 in rural NSW. I have also mentioned Leo the Late Bloomer a few times over the years here on this blog so I was pleased to pick up a copy (in close to mint condition) at a recent charity book sale.
Leo couldn't talk. Leo couldn't draw. Leo couldn't write. Leo couldn't read. He was also a very sloppy eater. But his mother knows they just need to wait. One day Leo will bloom! Dad just needs to be patient and listen to mum!
I love the way, when he finally does speak, Leo says a whole sentence and not just those punctuation words such as no, yes, up, down, more, mum, dad etc.
Having reading this book again decades after I first saw it, I can now see it might be a book you could share with new parents in a preschool setting or at the start of kindergarten. If I was reading it to a group of children in a library or classroom I would talk about the concepts we associate with Growth Mindset such as "some things might take longer but that's okay"; "When I struggle I grow"; and "It's okay for me to make mistakes". And you could talk about the way we are all different and we all learn differently and the importance of patience and perseverance. This book might also fit in with your family if your child has older siblings who 'seem' to be great at everything - reading this book side by side with your young reading companion might allow you to talk about the concept of 'not yet'. Try to find the book Frog is Frog where Frog is trying to find his talent.
I now discover there was also a sequel -Leo the Late Bloomer bakes a cake (1982) but I have not found a cover image to share.
I found these two classroom ideas.
Robert Kraus (1925-2001) wrote and illustrated over 100 books. Here are a couple of other books by Robert Kraus:
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