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A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman

Summary of the Story

Lisa and her mother go to the laundromat. Lisa brings her stuffed bear, Corduroy. Corduroy sees Lisa searching through her pockets before putting clothes in the washer. Corduroy notices he doesn't have a pocket and goes in search of one. He gets lost and spends the night in the laundromat. The next day Lisa returns, takes him home, and makes him a pocket.

Introducing the Story

• Read the title of the book on the cover, pointing to each word as you say it. Have your child repeat the title as you point to each word.
• Turn the page and point to the picture on the title page. Ask: What do you call these? (They are overalls.)

Reading the Story for the First Time

• Read the story, moving your finger under the words as you read.
• After reading the story, ask: Do you have a pocket in what you are wearing? What do you put in your pocket?

Recalling the Story

• After you have finished reading, ask your child the recall questions below. Continue to ask these questions when you reread the book, until he or she knows the answers.

Reading the Story Again and Again

• Give open-ended prompts on each page. For example, ask: What is happening in this picture? What does Corduroy do? Do less reading of the words to the story each time you read, leaving more and more of the "reading" or retelling to the child.
• Give prompts about objects or activities in the pictures. For example, ask: What is this place called? (It is a laundromat.) What are Lisa and her mother carrying? (They are carrying bags with their dirty clothes.) Use your finger to point to what you are asking about. Evaluate the child's response. Expand by giving more information. Ask your child to repeat the answer. If he or she needs help in answering a question, ask that question again the next time you read the book.
• You may wish to discuss the prompts shown below.

Building Literacy at Home
Support your child's learning at school.

• Read this book at least three times, following the instructions above.
• Your child can "read" A Pocket for Corduroy to another family member by explaining what is happening in each picture.
• With your child, make up another story about Corduroy. What might happen at a grocery store or a playground?
• Do the laundry together. Have your child help you sort items, measure detergent, and fold and stack the clothes. Recall parts of the story as you do your laundry.

Recall Questions
Ask the following questions to check your child's understanding of the story.

1. What is the name of this book? (The book is called A Pocket for Corduroy.)
2. Where does Lisa take Corduroy? (She takes him to the laundromat.)
3. What happens to Corduroy? (He gets lost and Lisa can't find him.)
4. Whose bag of laundry does Corduroy crawl into? (He crawls into the artist's bag.)
5. What does Corduroy think the box of soap is? (He thinks it is snow.)
6. Where does Corduroy spend the night? (He stays at the laundromat.)
7. What does Lisa do for Corduroy when she finds him? (She takes him home and makes a little pocket for his overalls. Then she puts his name on a card and puts the card in his pocket.)

Prompts
Use the following questions after the second or third reading of A Pocket for Corduroy. There are questions for every one or two pages of the story.

1. What is happening in this picture? (Lisa and her mother are going to the laundromat.)
2. Have you ever been to a laundromat? What do people do there?
3. What is Lisa carrying? (She is carrying a stuffed bear named Corduroy.)
4. What are the machines on the wall called? (They are called dryers.)
5. Where does Lisa put Corduroy? (She puts him in a chair.)
6. What is Lisa's mother doing? (She is putting clothes into the washing machine.)
7. What is Corduroy doing in this picture? (He is getting off his chair and going to search for something to make a pocket out of.)
8. What could Corduroy make a pocket out of?
9. What does Corduroy see? (He sees towels and a laundry bag full of clothes.)
10. Where is Corduroy? (He is inside the laundry bag.)
11. What is happening here? (The man is putting Corduroy into the dryer.)
12. How do you know that the man's clothes are still wet? (Water is dripping off them.)
13. Why does the man take off Corduroy's overalls? (They are wet and he wants to put them in the dryer for him.)
14. What is the man holding? (He has a pencil and a pad of paper.)
15. Why does Corduroy stay at the laundromat? (Lisa has lost him and the man doesn't want to take something that doesn't belong to him.)
16. What does Corduroy play with? (He plays with the soap.)
17. What is happening here? (Corduroy tips over the box of soap and slides down into the cart.)
18. What does Corduroy think the soap is? (He thinks it is snow.)
19. What does Corduroy think the laundry basket is? (He thinks it is a cage.)
20. Why has Lisa come back to the laundromat? (She has come to find Corduroy.)
21. How does Lisa feel now? (She is happy to have found Corduroy.)
22. Have you ever lost something and then found it? How did you feel?
23. What happens at the end of the story? (Lisa makes a pocket for Corduroy and puts a card with his name on it in the pocket.)

Vocabulary

The words listed below come from the story and its pictures. As you page through the book, ask your child to name the objects listed or talk about the actions portrayed. Words are listed for every two pages of story. Ask about other objects and actions shown in the pictures as you see fit.

• laundromat, laundry, toy bear
• washing machine, dryer
• dirty clothes, clean clothes, listening, searching
• looking, sliding
• towels, laundry bag
• climbing inside
• leaving, beret, wet clothes
• falling out, overalls
• spinning, drawing, dressing, box of soap
• spilling, white powder
• covered up, slipping
• worried, laundry basket, cage, sleeping
• talking, manager, sweeping, broom
• running
• pocket, spool, nuzzling, name