Review: Leo the Late Bloomer

Kraus, Robert. Leo the Late Bloomer. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1971.

Leo the Late Bloomer is about a tiger named Leo who develops at a slower rate than the other animals in the book. At first, it seems he cannot do anything right. For example, he couldn’t read, write, draw, or talk as well as the other animals of his age. His father, who grew impatient and did not understand what was wrong with Leo, watched over him for signs of “blooming.” His mother, however, was sure nothing was wrong and that he simply needed some more time to learn. Disregarding this, Leo’s father continually watches Leo for signs of blooming, but with no avail. Finally, Leo learns to read, write, draw, and talk, all in his own time. He blooms into a new tiger and finally functions at the level of other animals. At the end, Leo proclaims “I made it!”

In classrooms all across America, there are a bunch of “Leos,” or students with learning disabilities. These students’ minds don’t function in the same manner as other kids their age because they simply don’t develop mentally or socially at the typical rate. Similar to Leo, these children either need more time to learn and process the information or need to find different means that allow them to interpret information which is taught in school. They are in no way unable to learn.

Although we know this to not be true, the typical childhood stereotype of these learning disabled children is that they are not as intelligent as other students. Leo begins the book acting like a quiet tiger, although not necessarily “dumber” than other children in the class. It is assumed that Leo has a learning disability and functions at a level the other animals have successfully moved beyond. Leo the Late Bloomer puts children with learning disabilities into context for young readers, like how all the children in the book are writing their names and Leo can only make scribbles. When Leo finally learns these traits, it shows readers that although a student may learn differently or take longer learning to read or write, it is important to not label them as unintelligent. For parents reading this book to a child, it provides an opportunity to explain to the child that all students learn at different rates and it is important to not make fun of them for something that they can not control.

What especially appealed to me was how Kraus depicted the students in the story as all different animal types, as if to not put a face to the students with learning disabilities. It defers stereotypes because readers will not be able to pin a specific race, ethnicity, religious background, culture, or gender to students with learning disabilities. Obviously, Leo the Late Bloomer it is a timeless piece created by Robert Kraus which will surely continue to make an impact on children in the future. Although he is not an insider to this issue, this book is highly regarded as a way to introduce learning disabilities to young children and be used as a discussion tool by parents and teachers. This book is even recommended by one of the top learning disabilities websites, www.ldonline.org, which is why I chose to review it.