Fritz And The Beautiful Horses by Jan Brett      --Houghton Mifflin--1981

Fritz And The Beautiful Horses
     Fritz was one of the first books that Jan wrote and illustrated.  Its title describes the book perfectly as it is truly a book chocked full of the most beautiful  horses in the world. 

Dedication: In Honor of
     What makes this book even sweeter is Jan wrote this book especially for some very special people.   See if you can discover to whom Jan dedicated  this book.

Comparing and Contrasting
     Compare several of Jan Brett's books to find how her  writing and illustrations have changed over the years.

Math Connection: Subtraction With Regrouping
     Share Jan Brett's biography and other tidbits about her. Fact: Jan Brett was born in 1949.
Check the copyright date of each book.  Then subtract Jan's birth year from the copyright year to discover Jan's age when each book was written.  If you don't  have a collection of her books, use my book list or the list from Jan's site. 

Math Connection: Time Line
Using my book list or the list from Jan's site, make a Jan Brett's Book List Timeline.

Setting 
     Describe the setting of the story using vocabulary such as walled city, bridge with arches, etc.  Think of a time and place that this story might have happened.  Research to see if there are any walled cities today.

Math Connection: Counting
     Count the beautiful horses in the book.  You may  include the pony that is not beautiful in your count.  How many did you count?

Agree to Disagree
     Do you agree with the author when she says the pony is not beautiful?  Explain why or why not.

Making Comparisons
     Remember how many horses you counted?  Now go back and compare those horses.  Did you find two  that looked exactly alike even though they  may be  the same horse?  What did you discover?

Feelings Count
     How did you feel when the little pony had to stay outside of the walled city because the citizens did not think he was beautiful?

Feelings Change
     What happened in the story that made the citizens change their minds about the little pony?

Beautiful Is
    What is beauty? What makes someone beautiful?

The Ending
     Did you like the ending better than the beginning? Explain why or why not.

Making More Comparisons
     Jan's photograph is on the book jacket of Fritz and the Beautiful Horses.  It is also on the book jacket of The Hat.  Compare the two pictures.   Then stop and think: Has Jan's writing and  illustrating changed?  If so, how?

Drawing Horses
     Try drawing your own beautiful horse or perhaps the little pony. 

Make An Action Model
     Make an action model of a  horse using the basic parts of a  horse's body.    Resource: On the back cover of Drawing Horses  by Gill Speirs-- Simon &Schuster--1983 

Drawing Another Horse
     Draw another on your picture. This time think about the action model as you draw your horse.   Do you see any difference in the two horses?

Research and Classify
     Research and study about horses to discover the different types of horses.   Resource: Horses An Abridgment of Harold Roth's  Big Book of Horses by Laura Driscoll--Grosset & Dunlap--1997

Matching
     Match the horse stickers to the label and description  that best fits  to make your very own book of horses.  Resource: The Ultimate Horse Sticker Book--DK Publishing--1993  (Over 60 Reusable Stickers)

Flash cards
     Make flash cards by placing horse stickers on 3 x 5  index cards, labeling each, and alphabetizing in a card file box.   Resource: Gift Box Stickers Horses--DK Publishing   (Over 100 stickers)

Ask An Expert
     Invite an Equestrian expert to speak to the class.  Provide resources for students to research their questions.  Resource: Horses by Jackie Budd--Kingfisher--1995

Drawing Still Another Horse
     Using horse collection figures as a model, add one more horse to your picture.  Which horse in your picture do you like the best?  Why?  Write a little story about your three horses.

Activities Created By Shirley Wilborne