Written and illustrated by Grade 1 students from
Holy Redeemer Catholic School in Ardrossan, Alberta.
Click on each picture to see it larger!
Mrs. Bellybutton’s grade one class loved learning about animals.
They loved jungle animals.
They loved ocean animals.
They loved animals with wings.
They loved animals with scales.
Dinosaurs got them excited too.
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But what they loved most was learning about Canadian animals.
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“We live in Canada, Mrs. Bellybutton”, said the students.
“We could learn even more about Canadian animals if we could bring
them to our school!”
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But Mrs. Bellybutton always replied,
“No! No! No!
Absolutely not!
These animals can’t come to school.
Don’t give it another thought!”
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“Could we bring a beaver to school? There is a beaver on our
nickel. They have funny, flat tails. What harm could a little brown
beaver do?”
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But Mrs. Bellybutton always replied,
“No! No! No!
Absolutely not!
The beaver would chew up our pencils!
Don’t give it another thought!”
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“Could we bring a moose to school? They can swim
and dive. Their top lip can tear tree bark. What harm could
a moose do?”
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But Mrs. Bellybutton always replied,
“No! No! No!
Absolutely not!
The moose would get stuck in our playground!
Don’t give it another thought!” |
“Could we bring a caribou to school? They have soft, velvety
antlers. Rudolf is a friendly caribou. What harm could a caribou
do?”
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But Mrs. Bellybutton always replied,
“No! No! No!
Absolutely not!
Our glue would get stuck in his antlers!
Don’t give it another thought!”
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“Could we bring an otter to school? Their webbed feet help them
swim. Their noses and ears are waterproof. What harm could an otter
do?”
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But Mrs. Bellybutton always replied,
“No! No! No!
Absolutely not!
An otter would get us all wet!
Don’t give it another thought!”
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“Could we bring a raccoon to school? Raccoon’s have rings
on their tails. They have a black mask on their eyes. What harm could
a racoon do?”
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But Mrs. Bellybutton always replied,
“No! No! No!
Absolutely not!
A raccoon would eat the kindergarten’s snacks!
Don’t give it another thought!”
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“Could we bring a bighorn sheep to school? They are herbivores
and could mow our lawn. Their curly horns are always growing. What harm
could a bighorn sheep do?”
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But Mrs. Bellybutton always replied,
“No! No! No!
Absolutely not!
A bighorn would climb on our roof!
Don’t give it another thought!”
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“Could we bring a grizzly bear to school? A grizzly is cute and
fuzzy. He could hibernate in our reading corner. What harm could a grizzly
do?”
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But Mrs. Bellybutton always replied,
“No! No! No!
Absolutely not!
A grizzly would eat our fishies!
Don’t give it another thought!”
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“Mrs. Bellybutton, what is that sound?” asked the children.
And everyone heard HONK HONK HONK coming from outside.
“That honking is not from a truck,” said Mrs. Bellybutton, “that
is a Canada Goose!”
“That is a Canadian animal!” the children cried.
“Can we please go outside and see the Canada Goose?”
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And Mrs. Bellybutton replied,
“Yes! Yes! Yes!
Absolutely YES!”
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