Doreen Cronin has mastered bringing characters to life on the pages of her books.  In fact, she does it so well that readers are given first hand insight into their very deep, adventurous, and often hilarious thoughts.  Cronin’s books are a favorite among many children, including my own.  We love to laugh at the farm animals’ ingenuity in her “Click Clack…” books, and discuss our own day to day perspectives based on her “Diary of a…” books.

What’s really great about Doreen Cronin’s books is their segueway into applying multiple literacy skills.  Many of the texts can be extended to highlight point of view, cause and effect, inferencing, and friendly letter writing to name a few.  Here are some fun resources and activities to accompany some all time favorite books by Doreen Cronin.

Doreen Cronin Book Activities

Affiliate links included.

Click Clack Moo

Make a Click Clack Moo Cows That Type Paper Plate Mask from ABC Creative Learning to have some fun pretend play.

Astute Hoot has some Creative Ways to Teach Character Analysis.  Check out the clever bulletin board idea too!

Practice persuasive writing with Apples and ABC’s Click Clack Moo Cows That Type free printables.

Work on Click Clack Moo Cause and Effect with this free printable from The Lemonade Stand Teacher.  They also have a fun song addressed to Farmer Brown to help learn the parts of a friendly letter.

Grab this free Reading Response Road Map from Scholastic which prompts many insightful questions about the text.

Duck for President

Little Bird Kindergarten has a free downloadable Duck for President Story Extension Activity that includes ballots, ballot box decor, I Voted stickers, a graphing activity, and a written response sheet.

Make this President’s Day craft of the candidate Duck by Kindergarten Doodles.

This Vote! (Freebie) from Wicked Fun in First Grade has a sequencing chart and If I Were President… writing prompt to illustrate.

Scholastic shares a great list of Duck for President Discussion Guide and Activities as well as a free printable to identify some true or false statements about the text (not pictured). 

For more fun, watch this Duck For President Campaign Video by CBS.

Diary of a Worm

Chalk Talk has three fun activities to engage the senses and get crafty with their Worm Day.

Write your own diary entry with this Diary of a Worm Freebie from Speech is Sweet.

The Wise Owl Factory has some Diary of a Worm Free Punctuation Pages to print.

Extend the text by making an Earthworm Hotel to observe your very own worms.

Pitner’s Potporri has lots of free Diary of a Worm printables to practice literacy skills such as sequencing and cause and effect (not pictured).

Diary of a Spider

This Mentor Sentence Freebie from Collaboration Cuties helps teach grammar and writing.

In Tattling to the Teacher’s Diary of a Teacher, you’ll find a fun and crafty way to practice cause and effect.  Free printable included.

Extend the text by exploring this STEM Spider Web Science Activity for Kids by Buggy and Buddy to explore spiders and vibrations.

Engage in some spider role playing and be the star in your own diary with this Spider Headband Craft.

Illustrate and make your own diary entry with Diary of a Spider Journal Entries from Mrs. MeGowan’s 2nd Grade Safari (not pictured).

Author Study Resource

This Doreen Cronin Author Study with Free Printables by Embark on the Journey is an excellent resource that covers many favorites.  You’ll find ideas for activities as well as many printables!

More Favorite Author Resources

Activities to go with books by Laura Numeroff

Gail Gibbons Books and Activities Perfect for Summer