Summary
This cute and fun story is an amazing way to show children to accept who they are and where they come from. Written by Sarah Hwang, who is an immigrant, shares her story through the main character, Toast, a piece of bread! Toast wished he could be a dog, but didn’t fit in. On his journey, he had difficulty fitting in with dogs and their activities, like rolling around. Toast soon realizes that he is perfect just the way he is, because he found someone who loved him the way he is.
Theme(s):
Acceptance, Being Yourself, Perserverence
Personal Response
I think that this story is a great story about accepting yourself for who you are, no matter what you look like or where you came from. In this story, Toast, tries so hard to be a dog, but then finds someone who loves him for him! In this story, I felt so sad for Toast because he was trying so hard to be someone he is not. In this fun and upbeat story you see how accepting yourself will allow you to truly be happy!
Teaching Ideas
Using this story, I would focus on sequencing. I would create a chart for beginning middle and end. I would have students draw pictures of each part from the beginning middle and end. I think this is a good time to talk about how Toast is feeling throughout the whole story. At the end, we can discuss how Toast was feeling sad in the beginning, defeated in the middle, and happy in the end.
Recommended Reading Level
Birth-PreK, Grade 01, Grade 02
