Fritz and the Beautiful Horses by Jan Brett

Fritz and the Beautiful Horses

Written and Illustrated by Jan Brett

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers 

Copyright date: 1981

Number of pages: 32

Age Level: 4-7
Folklore

Fritz does not look like the other horses. He has short legs, his coat was not shiny, and his mane is a mess. He can barely keep up with the other horses and does not look the same when prancing. The other horses carry very important people to the walled city where only beautiful horses can go into. The people inside the city just laugh at poor Fritz. But Fritz is hard working and dependable. He proves to all the city people that there is more to a horse than just being beautiful. He becomes well loved after rescuing the children of the city.

This book uses a lot of adjectives to describe different characters and settings. I would reinforce the use of adjectives and use this opportunity to explain that beauty is what is on the inside, not the outside. I would have students write a list of adjectives that describe Fritz then they can all put their lists into a box that is ugly. I would explain that even though this box is ugly on the outside, what's on the inside is beautiful. Then each student would receive a box and they will write adjectives describing themselves on the inside of the box. They may then decorate the box on the outside as well. Once all students are done, they can walk around and see what the other students wrote about themselves.