Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen

Howard B. Wigglebottom

by Howard Binkow, Susan F. Cornelison

Imagine how much easier life would be if children listened better. Meet Howard B. Wigglebottom, a curious rabbit who just doesnt listen! This new illustrated book has been created to help children, ages 3-7, improve their listening skills and pay attention. Educators, parents, and children alike will laugh and learn as Howard B. Wigglebottom learns to listen.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, School, Back To School, Animals, Fiction, Rabbits

33 pages, Unknown Binding

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

University of Michigan graduate. Our Foundation is dedicated to helping young children become better listeners, learn important life lessons and feel good about themselves. Currently living in Sarasota, Florida.

Reviews

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for young children on listening. Gives a good checklist in the back.

[Marley Stowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:
Howard always seems to be in trouble because he does not listen. In class, his teacher puts him in the corner because he does not listen to her when she asks him to sit still. At lunch, he slips on a bana peel because he does not listen to his classmates. At recess, he is hit in the eye with a ball because he does not listen to his team mates telling him to pay attention. All of these consequences helped Howard decide to start paying attention. The next day, Howard listens and follow directions and his hard work and determination pays off.
Reflection:
This is a very engaging book for all students. It is easy to relate to because almost every students struggles with wanting to pay attention at school. The author also includes silly situations to help keep students engaged. The illustrations are very detailed and help the readers understand the story better.
Lesson:
This book would be a great lesson for students in helping them learn better listening skills. It directly shows consequences of not listening, and rewards of listening. It can also be used to guide a lesson about cause and effect. (If you don't listen, things wont turn out well).

[Malbadeen]

today I am sad because this book was allowed to be published! The complete antithesis of No David!

[Kirsten Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to listen is a story written for children ages four to seven. It is a story about a young bunny who has trouble listening so he is always in trouble at school. Once he is to sit alone, he begins to think and feel sad which makes him want to start to listen. I gave this five stars because the characters, who consist of Howard and his teacher and classmates, are different kinds of animals. I think stories with animals as the characters are appealing to young readers because it gives a sense of fantasy. The setting is at school, mostly, and some at home. I think this also appeals to young readers as they can relate to these places. In the story, Howard also goes through different emotions; such as happy, silly, sad and embarrassed. Although he is a bunny, children can relate to these feelings and it teaches a way to get through the tough ones by sitting down and thinking about what you can do to change things.

[Jordan Deep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Howard has lots of trouble listening. When he doesn't listen, bad things keep happening to him. He decides to try to change his ways one day, and is successful! Howard turned his life around for the better and made an improvement in each area of his life!
Reflection: This book was a great social story! It is very kid friendly, and shows the troubles that come along with not listening. I would definitely use this in my classroom to establish rules maybe the first few days of school.
Implementation: This could be used to teach cause and effect. Because Howard didn't listen......
this happened. There are many examples in the book, so they should write down a handful of the causes and effects.

[Lauren Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this to my 3 year old tonight & felt really disappointed when it ended. At first I thought it was cute until they put him in time out where he thought hard & all of a sudden starting listening.

Being a former special educator, I just kept thinking about the child that can’t control themselves when it comes to listening & following directions. How defeating would this story be to them? Also the parents who aren’t quite aware yet & thinks their kid should just listen.

My 3 year old doesn’t seem to have any learning or attention difficulties yet, but I definitely won’t be reading this book again to him. I don’t want him to think if he just thinks really hard then things will be fixed.

[Lilly Roche · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book goes through the life of howard and how he goes through the day and does not listen. He gets himself into trouble most times, but still continues to ignore the comments from his classmates or teachers about listening. Until one day he got put into a timeout away from his friends for not listening and he was sad, so he decided he would start listening. The next day he listened to every instruction and all of his friends. Howard quickly realizes there are many rewards when he listens and he goes throughout having a good day full of smiles and fun. This book can be used in the class to show that when you do not listen their may be some consequences, but most times if you listen and respectful good things can come of it.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Howard P. Wigglebottom does not listen very well. He doesn't hear his teaching give him instructions, or his friends warning him to watch where he steps. When Howard is put in time out for not listening he decides he does not like being in trouble. He chooses to try really hard to listen to others better.

A good story for teaching listening skills. However, Howard seems to be neurodiverse, and not just a bad listener. I can see a child with ADHD picking up this book, identifying with some of the main characters behaviors and wondering why, when he really tries, he cannot just make himself listen like Howard.

I'm kinda on the fence with this one. Use with discretion.

[Niharika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen is a story about Howard, who has big ears but hardly listens. During storytime, he is talking. In the field, his friends tell him to be careful, but he pays no heed to them, and the ball bumps into his eyes, giving him a nasty bruise. While walking, he ignored the banana peel and slipped. All these accidents were attributed to Howard's lack of listening skills. However, he finally learns a lesson and learns to listen, as seen in his changed behavior while listening to a story or listening to his friends.

P.S.
A must read for children and adults
Wonderful illustrations and a great storyline

[Tatiana Ensz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Levels
DRA: 16
Lexile: 460L

Explanation of Star Rating: I gave this book five stars because of the overall presentation. Howard B. Wigglebottom does not listen well and no one seems to have authority over him. This book teaches students the importance of listening, this book would be a great lesson for kids. For example, Howard misses out on important information from his friends because he didn't listen. Howard continues to miss out on important stuff until he learns to listen

Most standout trait(s): Presentation

[Kate]

Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to listen is a great school to read to children when talking about behavior in the classroom. It talks about how to be a good listener at school and at home. I really like how it talks about when he is at school. The examples they use are ones that children can connect to. I also really like at the end of the book there is a list of 6 ways to be a good listener. That would be great to use in the classroom.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

We picked this book up because my 2 year old has been having a hard time listening to directions lately (I know this is the beginning of the "terrible twos"). My daughter was actually interested in this book. It had a good message and pictures that kept the attention of my child. We'll probably read this book a few times over the next year to remind her about the importance of listening.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen (Howard B. Wigglebottom)
by Howard Binkow
Read in a third grade class. Hoping to help with behaviors. Although the text shows the nature of listening and changing behaviors the third graders had more fun with the humor, and the second language learners had more fun with their own confusions.

[Andrea Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

This helped my daughter so much! She was having a challenging time listening at school, and this book really seemed to make an impression, as she is doing a lot better now. I like that there are some helpful tips and questions in the back that you can discuss with your kid.

[Emily Farquhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to use for teaching students how to listen. This rabbit doesn't like to listen, this book follows the important lessons needed in order to learn how to properly listen. This book will surely make both you and your students laugh!

F&P: H
AR: 1.4

6 Characteristics:
Voice, ideas

[Debbie]

This is a wonderful book to read to young students in a library or small reading circle. The fictional character is believable. Our students like watching the read aloud but there is nothing better than being read to by a real person sitting on a chair in front of children.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for lessons on what kids should and shouldn't do, especially in library.

[Yvonne O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book with an easy to follow story and message and great discussion question section at the back! My girls loved it and giggled at the name.

[Trey Veazey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a feeling that there is more to Howard than we know.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to read this with my second graders! So many students need extra help with listening.

My 2 year old liked it and I think it would be well received even through the end of second grade.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book about learning to listen

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely helpful for school aged children needing to learn to listen better.

[Joanne Zienty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of a series of books covering social emotional learning...

[Alexa · Rating 1 out of 5]

howard b. wigglebottom has adhd, doesn't he...

[Totius Therapies · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter loves this book and is so glad we have a copy at home so she can read it over and over.

[Liz Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even better with online read aloud!

[Phoebe Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simplistic book about listening

[Cleo White]

“Howard makes up his mind. From that moment on, he will try very hard to be the best listener he can be.”

Howard B. Wigglebottom is always in trouble in school because he doesn’t listen. Throughout the story Howard is in his own world—he does whatever he wants without heeding the warnings of others. One day in timeout (for not listening) Howard is very sad, he realizes that he needs to listen more. So, he does! He tries very hard to listen during the day and it pays off. Howard even gets an award for his stellar listening!

Howard B Wigglebottom is so relatable to children in school. He lives in each one of our children in the classroom. I know he lives in mine! Sometimes, it is so hard for smaller children to listen to directions, warnings, conversations—you name it! I think this book with its fun, watercolor illustrations and accessible language is the perfect text to help students see the importance in listening to others. In the story, Howard not only finds himself in trouble with the teacher, but in situations that could have been avoided—like flying around the classroom on the ceiling fan! Even with this silly instance, I think children can make the connection between listening and safety, learning, fun, etc.

One of the best parts of this book is that there are rules to how to be a better listener at the end of the story. There are also listening discussion questions for teachers to use with students. This book is a perfect resource for teachers to use any time in the year to help students see the importance in listening. It provides the teachers with tools to guide the conversation and even rules that can be posted in the room to help remind students of how to be good listeners. This book could also be used to teach students to be reflective, how to be good citizens, among other things. Another great thing about this book is that it also has a corresponding website to go along with it (www.wedolisten.org). There are other books in the series and even songs to match. Overall, I think this book is a great resource for teachers in the lower grades (elementary) to help with positive classroom management and creating a positive classroom culture of listeners!

[Mymcbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Review: Last time I talked about Howard B. Wigglebottom he was learning about Sportsmanship. This time Howard is about to learn about Listening.

Howard is always in trouble at school because he doesn’t listen even when told by his teacher during story time to stop bouncing around the room and sit down and be quiet. But Howard doesn’t listen. And because he doesn’t listen Howard was always in trouble. He slipped because he didn’t listen to his friends trying to warn him about the banana peel on the floor. Instead of being still on the playground while playing baseball, Howard would hop around and didn’t keep his eye on the ball.

It all came to a head when in art class; Howard didn’t listen to the teacher about trying to keep the paint on the paper and not on the table. So the teacher asks him to take a time out. While he was doing time out Howard felt so sad, he did not like being alone and in trouble. He made up his mind to be a good listener and received a #1 Listener star.

This is a wonderful and engaging book for children to learn how to become a better listener. The Today’s Lesson at the end of the book teaches children to sit quietly, use both eyes and ears to help with listening, not to interrupt and wait their turn to talk and listening discussion questions. Great illustration which helps tells the story.

I highly recommend this book for every household with children and for classroom teaching.



Disclaimer: As per FTC guidelines, I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone.

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howard is having a little trouble listening at school. As a result he finds that not listening can bring about lots of problems. First, during story time Howard is jumping and bouncing and not sitting and listening. His teacher yells at him. She wants him to sit, be quiet and listen. Howard ends up in the corner facing the wall all alone. At lunch time Howard's friends try to warn him about a slippery banana peel, but he doesn't listen. His food tray is up in the air and so is Howard. On the playground Howard doesn't listen and he gets hit in the eye with a ball. By the end of the day Howard is in the corner all alone, once again. But that is a good thing. Howard has a chance to think about his day. Will Howard learn to listen? You will have to read the story to see.

Binkow has done an excellent job of showing kids what can happen if they choose not to listen. Bad things can happen. The back of the book has tips and lots of questions for parents and teachers to have a discussion with kids about how to listen. Soft colorful pictures bring to life all of the troubles Howard gets himself into. Kids will love reading the simple sentences and will have fun identifying with all of the characters.
Www.wedolisten.org