Storytime With Franklin: A Collection of Six Favorites

It’s hard to believe that almost four decades have elapsed since Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark presented the world of children’s literature with Franklin in the Dark . However, the little green turtle has not aged a day, and the contents of the Franklin books will continue to resonate with today’s preschool and early years children in the same way they did with the children’s parents and, in some cases, their grandparents. The books’ themes of dealing with fears, making new friends, learning how to ride a bike (without training wheels), having to deal with an injury/illness and expressing affection are truly timeless. Another continuing positive of the Franklin books is that, whatever Franklin must confront, he does so within a supportive framework of his animal friends.

The stories included in Storytime With Franklin were all originally published between 1986-2002. In addition to the aforementioned Franklin in the Dark, the collection includes Franklin Goes to School, Franklin’s New Friend, Franklin Rides a Bike, Franklin Goes to the Hospital and Franklin Says I Love You.

Public and school libraries may wish to refresh a portion of their “Franklin” collection with the contents of this book while parents and grandparents might want to make Storytime With Franklin a home purchase so that they can share their reading memories of this little anthropomorphic reptile with the young ones in their lives.