Lucy’s Book Club
Should I Share My Ice Cream?
by Mo Willems
Summary:
Should I Share My Ice Cream?” is one of Mo Willems’ popular Gerald and Piggie books. Gerald has a tough decision to make – should he share his ice cream cone with Piggie, even though he himself is just dying to eat it alone. He ponders this decision a bit too long and his ice cream melts and falls to the ground. Piggie appears with an ice cream cone that he offers to share with Gerald. This is a story of friendship, delaying gratification, and conflicting choices.
How does “Should I Share My Ice Cream?” support the emotional development of young children?
Gerald faces a very troubling inner battle as he goes back and forth between his desire to share with his friend and his desire to gobble up the ice cream cone all by himself. How many times do children find themselves in the same types of situations? It can be so very hard to give up something special or to share it with another. Children may experience a range of feelings from frustration, to anger, to sadness, and hopefully they can arrive at a feeling of satisfaction in having done something good and helpful for another person. The message of sharing is a message for a lifetime.
Reading “Should I Share My Ice Cream?” to a group of children; engaging and activating children throughout the story:
“Should I Share My Ice Cream?” is fun to read and children can usually fill in some of the text as it is read aloud. Gerald and Piggie are both very expressive characters, so have children talk about the expressions they see on the characters’ faces and how the expressions let the reader know just what each is feeling. Have children talk about how they feel when they have to share. What kindsof things are easy for them to share? Hard toshare?
Activities to Use With “Should I Share My Ice Cream?”
Our Crayon (Poem – Author Unknown)
I had a box of crayons,
All shiny, straight, and new.
I lent a friend one crayon,
And oops! It broke in two.
My friend said she was sorry,
But I said, “I don’t care.”
‘Cause now we both can color,
With one crayon we can share.”
A Shared Collage Make a family sharing collage using pictures from magazines, pictures that family members might draw and/or photos. Talk about how family members can share the materials, the space on their paper, their ideas, and then how they will share the finished product. Will they share it on FaceTime? Put it up in their home?
Download printable .pdf to share activities in your home, homeschool or school environment.
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Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems
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Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems
