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Franklin the Turtle

Franklin Is Bossy

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When Franklin keeps picking the games without listening to his friends' suggestions, they decide to play without him

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

31 people are currently reading
493 people want to read

About the author

Paulette Bourgeois

374 books124 followers
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Bourgeois graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational therapy from the University of Western Ontario in 1974. She was a psychiatric occupational therapist for three years before deciding to focus on her writing. She studied journalism at Carlton University then worked as a reporter for the Ottawa Citizen and CBC Television. She became a freelance journalist in Washington, D.C. contributing pieces to Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Reader's Digest and Maclean's. She returned to Toronto in 1983.

In 2003, she became a Member of the Order of Canada and in 2007, she received an Honourary Doctor of Laws from her alma mater, the University of Western Ontario.

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5 stars
1,664 (49%)
4 stars
862 (25%)
3 stars
652 (19%)
2 stars
119 (3%)
1 star
40 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
Profile Image for Michelle Olson.
Author 5 books122 followers
May 15, 2019
I love all the Franklin books but this one really hits home with my kids, especially when we have play dates. Nobody wants to play with someone who is constantly telling them what to do. Thank you Franklin for putting this into a kid friendly message.
Profile Image for Yousra .
723 reviews1,391 followers
August 12, 2016
دي قصة من اتنين استعرناهم من مكتبة النادي بفضل عضوية ابني الكبير في مكتبة النادي، ودي كانت قصة من اختياره

فضلت أفكر فترة ... مش كان أحسن إن فريق الترجمة يعتمد كلمة المتسلط بدل العنيد ؟؟!! هي الأكثر تعبيرا وهي الأنسب لترجمة العنوان الأصلي بس شرحها كان هيبقى صعب

أحسن حاجة في فري إنه مش بطل مثالي بل هو طفل ... احيانا كويس وبيتعلموا من سلوكه واحيانا بيعمل غلطات أو بيتصف بصفات سيئة وبيصلح من سلوكه فالأولاد يتعلموا برضو إن عادي اننا نغلط والمهم اننا مانتماداش في الغلط

هنا فري متسلط بيفرض على صحابه نوعية اللعب اللي تتلعب وبيغير قواعد اللعبة لو لقى نفسه هيخسر ... صحابه بيزعلوا منه بس في الآخر بيفهم وبيحاول يتغير

لما بلاقي حد من ولادي هايجبر التاني على لعبة او بيهدد بحاجة زي هاكسر دي لو ملعبناش كذا باتدخل بحزم وبقول لهم ماينفعش نجبر حد على حاجة وماينفعش نهدد ولا نتهدد وبابعدهم عن بعض لحد لما يلاقوا لعبة يلعبوها مع بعض بالتراضي أو كل واحد يلعب او يعمل حاجة لوحده

حسوا أوي بالقصة دي لأن فيها من تصرفاتهم كتير ولما بيعملوا كدة دلوقتي باقول لهم خليكوا زي فري واخسروا صحابكم لو عايزين فيتعدلوا شوية طول مانا حواليهم :)

عادي ... أطفال
:)
18 reviews1 follower
December 12, 2018
I was reading this book to my 6 year old brother and I think that it’s a good bed time Story and it teaches kids good morals
18 reviews1 follower
April 5, 2022
Franklin is a turtle with a lot of friends: beaver, bear, fox, goose and duck. Franklin always wants to make the rules for games, so one day his friends say that they don't want play with him anymore.
He plays by himself and helps his father do chores, but feels lonely and decides not to be bossy anymore. In a preschool classroom, some children are bossy and like to tell others what to do. This book gently reminds children that they should listen to what other people have to say and take turns being the leader. The illustrations by Brenda Clark are realistic and colorful with a lot of plants and animals. The story has a good simple lesson and encourages children to solve problems on their own.
This book would be useful in a preschool classroom where some children are taking charge of playtime, on a regular basis.
Profile Image for Lynn  Davidson.
8,263 reviews37 followers
February 17, 2020
Franklin enjoyed playing with his friends, but one day his friends had had enough of his being so bossy. Franklin had to play alone, which gave him time to think about his behaviour. Good story and wonderful illustrations.
Profile Image for Zoey.
535 reviews1 follower
April 4, 2024
A great way to help kids understand how to take turns and forgive their friends. Franklin is able to learn from his dad and realize, on his own, that sometimes friends fight. But it’s always important to apologize and forgive each other.
Profile Image for Manda Marigold.
854 reviews
July 4, 2024
In this book, Franklin bosses his friends around much to their displeasure. Eventually, Franklin learns to listen to his friends and they compromise. Overall, this is an effective tool to use when teaching children that they cannot have their way all the time.
Profile Image for Lulu.
5 reviews
July 27, 2021
Bedtime story

My son and I rated this 5 stars because the story was nice. We loved the illustrations too. Franklin is my favorite from childhood too. Franklin's stories are epic.
Profile Image for Kristina.
576 reviews31 followers
May 9, 2023
Лидер е едно, но винаги ти да командваш, за да печелиш игрите е съвсем друго. Понякога трябва да си защитник, за да може друг да е нападател.
Profile Image for J.B. Mathias.
949 reviews3 followers
January 22, 2024
The Franklin books artwork is far and away the best illustrations in any childrens books. And the messages are simple uncontroversial and positive for kids to see.
Profile Image for Charlie.
220 reviews21 followers
January 13, 2014
I don't hate this book. It's okay. This book teaches a lesson: Don't be bossy or people won't want to play with you. I'm glad that Franklin forgives Bear and Bear forgives Franklin but here is what I don't like: Franklin has time to himself but an hour later he thinks he's ready to go back outside. But when he gets outside he gives orders again. Franklin is selfish and a naughty person. Almost every book I've read on Franklin he does something he's not supposed to be doing. In, "Franklin Says Sorry" Franklin promises Bear he won't show the flag Bear made to anybody. But with Franklin as the character, he showed someone. At least Franklin does something good at the end. I would of gave the book 1 star if Franklin still gave orders at the end. I would of never read another Franklin book the rest of my life.
Profile Image for Carly Brown.
55 reviews2 followers
October 21, 2008
For Carly's Award

Level: Transitional

Genre: Picture Book

Topic: Best Friends, fighting with friends, being bossy

Curricular Use: Independent Reading

Social: Having a friend who always wants to be the boss, learning to be a better friend, learning that friends don't like to be bossed around, learning the importance of friendship

Literary Elements: Dialogue, Dynamic characters, conflict and resolution, moral of the story

Strong Connection between the pictures and the text (the pictures mirror the emotion of the text)
Profile Image for Liane.
122 reviews5 followers
October 17, 2008
Genre: Picture book, animal story

Reading Level: Early

Topics & Themes: Friendship. Bossy friends.

Curricular Use: Shared

Social: Apologies. Unselfishness: When playing with others they should have input.

Literary Elements: Conflict between Franklin and his friends. Moral of being a good sport. Franklin is dynamic: adapts to his friends wishes and stops being bossy so not alone. Personification.

Text & Pictures: Interaction of text and pictures.
Profile Image for Slayermel.
906 reviews36 followers
January 29, 2015
I think this is one of my favourite Franklin books, because guaranteed in every class I have children who can relate to the story.
Franklin always picks the games and changes the rules to them so he can be the winner every time. When him and his friends get together to play baseball Franklin always pitches and tells his friends which position to play. His friends get tired of Franklin always telling them what to do and walk off to play by them selves.
Profile Image for Kia M..
100 reviews
April 11, 2011
I'm sure this could be a text-to-self connection for a lot of students. Whether they are the one being bossy, or has that friend that always tries to boss them around. Great way to show your students that being bossy is not okay, and if you don't learn to treat your friends better they won't want to be your friend anymore. It's important to learn how to work together.
Profile Image for Katherine.
249 reviews
August 25, 2011
Franklin is seriosuly bossy and controlling in this book. I taught this book for a certain individual in the class who was having a hard time letting go and letting others be in control- he also loved telling people what to do. We then roll played and I used this child as an example without ever calling him out. A good lesson-learning book.
30 reviews
Read
January 20, 2013
Franklin is Bossy is another book in the Fable genre. This book uses Franklin and his friend Bear to teach kids not to be bossy and to be kind to their friends. The animals all have human traits and relationships, including the father-son relationship that portrays a father figure to seek advice from. I remember watching this tv show and also enjoyed reading the books.
69 reviews1 follower
May 7, 2020
The Franklin books should be included in any Kindergarten-1st grade classroom, and while they may not have large accompanying morals, the books deal with problems that young children often deal with. From problems at school to issues with friends and family, these books are amazing and students have gravitated to them for a long time.
Profile Image for Dharwiyanti.
49 reviews49 followers
February 5, 2009
Bunda sih suka, tapi Naila ga mau baca lagi. Kayaknya sih ngerasa kesindir, hehe..
Judul bahasa Indonesianya kan "Franklin Mau Menang Sendiri". Kata Naila, "aku ga mau menang sendiri kok Bunda, aku kan maunya menang sama2.."
Profile Image for Child960801.
2,930 reviews
November 28, 2025
In this one, Franklin quarrels with his friends when he tries to tell them what to do and what games to play. After some time apart, they make up and Franklin realizes that he can't always be the one telling everyone what to do.
Profile Image for Kristina.
1,129 reviews235 followers
April 9, 2015
I just adore Franklin! I used to watch it with my little sister and was as much captivated and fascinated as she was :D Franklin is such a lovely little creature and all of the stories have some moral in them :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews

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