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Mr Willowby’s Christmas Tree Downloadable Book/Lesson Plan
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Book Review & Lesson Plan: You Get A Tree! And You Get A Tree! In “Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree”
Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry, (purchase a copy on Amazon or find at your local library) is quite possibly my all-time favorite Christmas book to read to my pre-k kiddos. It’s chock-full of flowery, descriptive vocabulary words (glistening! splendid! magnificent! mincemeat!) and jaunty rhyming prose. It’s long, for sure, but so worth it as the illustrations are super cute, and there are many comprehension activities you can do to extend the learning.
(This post contains affiliate links. A purchase through these links supports Preschooligans at no additional cost to you and helps us continue to provide free educational resources. Thank you!) Fair warning, though, you may have to explain some high-brow terms like “parlor” and “butler,” to your kiddos, but Mr. W’s bougie environs notwithstanding, this book rules.
Anyway…back to our story. Mr. Willowby has a giant tree trucked in, but oops, he failed to pre-measure and lo and behold, that big boy is scraping his 19-ft parlor ceiling.
So, like a man who knows he better act fast or he’s going to find himself in a tux atop a Little Giant ladder scraping off pine sap and applying a coat of touch-up paint, Baxter the Butler lops off the top of the tree. The ceiling is no longer in jeopardy, the tree looks lovely, and Mr. W goes on his merry way.
But that’s just where the story and the fun begins. This little lopped-off tree top makes its way through assorted residents of Mr. Willowby’s town — human and animal alike. First Baxter takes it to sweet Miss Adelaide, the aforementioned upstairs maid, but it proves to be too big, so she lops off the top and tosses it out. Gardener Timm ambles by the trashcan, picks up the discarded treetop and takes it home to Mrs. Timm, where, yes, they find it’s just a wee bit too big. The top is chopped off and tossed out, and that’s when the animals get involved. Gradually the tree top works its way to the home of the tiny mice who live in Mr. Willowby’s parlor (how is it Baxter hasn’t found them yet?), and it ends with everyone getting to enjoy a bit of Mr. W’s tree.
The treetop wends its way through six families after it leaves Mr. Willowby, so the book does get a little long. But it’s a heart-warming story, and it does encourage sharing, even though no one in the story is aware they are actually sharing (except Baxter, of course. That must be why he let those mice stay, he’s a softie at heart.)
We love this story for older 3s, 4s & 5s!
The subtle theme of reducing, reusing and recycling also gets a nod here — ahead of its time since the story was originally written in the mid-20th century. And finally, the animals demonstrate sheer joy at being together in the holiday season, as they celebrate finding the bits of the tree. That’s the best part of the story in my opinion, because it truly captures the holiday spirit of being with the ones you love.
So much to love about this wonderful story!
We’ve put together a packet of learning extension activities you can download below. And the downloadable version of the lesson plan is there as well. Enjoy!
(Below please find a list of reading comprehension questions and vocabulary words. This list is not exhaustive, and it may spark additional questions from your kiddos. As always, we recommend that you scaffold based on your age group and the wigglies of your kiddos.)
*Downloadable/printable copy of the book lesson plan below*
Reading Comprehension Questions
Before reading: Show the cover. What do you think this story is about? Can you figure out what is going on in the picture? What do you think this character (point to Mr. Willowby) is thinking? Why do you think he’s making this face? What is a “character” in a story? How about a “main character?”
After reading title: Point out Mr. Willowby. What do you think is going on with his Christmas tree?
While reading: I usually say “Uh oh, what happened when they put up their tree?” as each of characters find their tree is too big for their space. I also ask “What should they do?” each time, so the children can interact, and they get the hang of it as each character’s tree gets lopped off and put out for another. There are also a number of complex words that may need to be defined to your students depending on their ages (some suggested ones are listed below).
After reading: How would you have fixed Mr. Willowby’s Christmas tree? Would you chop off the top too? What’s another way to make the tree smaller? If you chop off the bottom or trunk instead, would others be able to share in the tree as well? What’s a way you like to share at the holidays? How about the rest of the year? Did you notice that the characters were reducing, reusing and recycling? How were they doing that? Since a tree was cut down in the beginning, what would be a good way to ensure there are more trees in the future? What are other ways we can reduce, reuse and recycle at Christmas? How about the rest of the year?
Vocabulary Words
- glistening
- dashed
- magnificent
- splendid
- parlor
- terrible
- butler
- glee
- trim/trimming (as in “decorate”)
- delighted
- snipped
- snug
- padding (as in “walking”)
- drowsily
- hunk (as in a large piece, not the “attractive person” kind)
- tinsel
- spied
- scampered
- mincemeat
- den
- merrymaking
- nook
- mistletoe
- grand
Enrichment Activities:
We have created a whole package of reading and math activities to go with this wonderful story. Our Companion/Extension Activities pack includes beginning/middle/end, count & color, cutting & ordering, and patterning activities to name a few. It’s free to download below.
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Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree Companion Activities
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“ABCs All Around Me” Letter Scavenger Hunt (Also Works Great For Virtual & Distance Learning)!
Our curious little Pre-K kiddos notice that there are letters, words and environmental print all around them, and that those letters and words combine to mean something. “ABCs All Around Me” scavenger hunt is a fun pre-reading alphabet activity to help them notice and recognize the letters that are all around them everyday, and can help them begin to sound out and read the words. (And it works well as a virtual or distance learning activity too!)
Whether they are at home or in the classroom, this game can help them see that words surround them everywhere in their lives. Sometimes it just takes someone to point out — hey, did you notice there are letters here?
Students can either download and print a paper copy to color by hand, or pull it up onto a computer and use a paint/draw application to color in the letters as they find them.
The free downloadable and printable document is below. Feel free to distribute the pdf to your students.
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Book Review & Lesson Plan: Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!
(This post contains affiliate links. A purchase through these links supports Preschooligans at no additional cost to you and helps us continue to provide free educational resources. Thank you!) We’re pretty sure, if you spend any time around preschoolers, you already know Pigeon. And those who know Pigeon, love Pigeon. Yes, we’re talking about Pigeon from Mo Willems’ Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus (find at your local library or purchase from Amazon) and many other Pigeon stories. We love Pigeon here, and we love Pigeon books, and hey, we love pretty much ANY Mo Willems book, but those are blogs for other days.
Back to Pigeon, if you aren’t familiar with him, Pigeon is a slightly cranky, slightly self-absorbed, very persistent protagonist who really just wants to drive a bus. Never mind that Pigeon doesn’t have opposable thumbs, isn’t in possession of a valid Class B Commercial Driver’s License, and that his feet don’t reach the pedals. None of this matters to Pigeon, who simply wants to drive the bus.
Now Bus Driver has been down this road before. Clearly, he has had run-ins with Pidge and knows that as soon as he leaves to get his cup of coffee or whatever he has to go do, Pidge is gonna show up and try to go all Sandra Bullock and commandeer the bus. So to head off this eventuality, Bus Driver asks us, your friendly and conveniently located onlookers, to make sure that Pidge doesn’t try to drive the bus.
It’s a simple request, right? We will probably just sit here and chat and only half pay attention to the bus. Kinda like when mom asks you to watch her purse while she runs to the ladies room, right? Sure, Bus Driver, you got it. Now where were we?
Heh heh. Well now, if that’s what happened, we’d have no story, would we?
Opportunistic Pigeon recognizes a tenderfoot when he sees one. And he is all over that in a heartbeat. In fact, he’s probably been lying in wait all this time. First he tries to be coy, chummies up to us readers, and delicately asks if he can drive the bus. This question is generally met with an explosion of “NOs” from your real-life audience. And so it begins.
We love this book for 3s and Pre-K!
Pigeon, affronted at being shut down so unceremoniously, proceeds to throw at us a litany of wheedling preschoolisms: “Pleeeease, I’ll be careful!”/”I’ll be your best friend!”/”Just one time around the block!” before he desperately resorts to cash-money bribery, followed by threats of going over our heads to mom, rounds it out with a healthy dose of good old-fashioned guilt, and finally ends with the full-blown mother-of-all-toddler-reactions — the screaming tantrum.
All the while, your joyous and raucous audience is generally howling in amusement at his gradual descent into full, unfettered, completely unhinged meltdown. (Because they’ve certainly never been the ones to do this before, right?) And this is the hook. Pigeon displays all of the reactions, feelings, emotions and unfiltered angst that every preschooler can relate to.
It’s why Pigeon books are so popular with the preschool crowd. Pigeon displays a slightly-lower-than-the-average-preschooler’s sensibility, so the preschool crowd instantly recognizes “Hey, I’ve got it together way more than this guy.” They see the fallacy in his logic and they’re empowered to tell him what to do and what not to do.
And man, he’s funny. He makes us laugh. His failures and frustrations make us laugh. He’s also a little bit naughty. And he doesn’t listen so well. And he’s fairly confident that he’s right (when he’s not). Plus, he’s totes adorbs. And all of that, folks, is a winning combination.
*Downloadable/printable copy of lesson plan below
Reading comprehension questions:
Before reading: Show the cover. What is happening on the cover? What do you think this book might be about?
After reading title: What do you think it’s about now? What is a pigeon? Have you seen a pigeon before? Did it look like this pigeon? Did it talk? Do you think it could drive a bus? Why or why not?
While reading: Whenever Pigeon asks a question, encourage the children to answer him. Encouraging the dialog puts the children in control and empowers them as rules enforcers. Draw parallels between Pigeon and the children. When Pigeon says “I never get to do anything!” ask the students if they ever feel that way? What made them feel better?
After reading: Did this book turn out the way you thought it would? How was it different? How was it the same? What was your favorite part?
I like to do an enrichment activity immediately after this book is done and ask the children “Why do you think the Bus Driver didn’t want the pigeon to drive the bus?” It’s a question that’s never really answered in the story, so we answer it on our own. The key here is asking them separately so they can’t hear others’ answers and parrot. So, I generally do it as a transition activity, for example, if we read the book and then go wash hands for lunch, I’ll call each one up individually and ask them quietly, record their answers, then dismiss them to go wash hands.
Another enrichment activity that gets the kiddos thinking and talking, is asking them “What would be a better choice for the pigeon rather than driving the bus?” It gets them thinking about things birds do, things that are safer for birds and non-adults to do, and again it empowers them to make “better choices” for the Pigeon. A free downloadable copy of the “Better Pigeon Choices” enrichment activity and other follow-up activities are below.
Vocabulary words:
- pigeon
- careful
- steer
- cousin
- almost
- block (as in a city block)
- five bucks
Enrichment Activities:
Better Pigeon Choices Freebie Literacy & Reading Comprehension: “Better Pigeon Choices” — What do you think would be a better choice for the pigeon to do instead of driving the bus? Free downloadable pages (below) for recording and displaying dictation. In this freebie, we’ve included a one-pager with a built-in headline and lines/spaces to write in children’s names and responses. The second page is just the headline question in large font so you can print & cut it out and affix it to a large sheet of paper to create your own dictation record.
Art: The Best Children’s Books has an adorable Pigeon directed drawing activity, check it out here.
Free Preschool Math, Science, Literacy, Reading, Writing and Art Resources for Teachers and Parents
