Themes in Amos and Boris

In this activity, students will identify a common theme in the story and support with evidence from the text. One of the themes that is very evident in Amos and Boris is friendship. Amos and Boris are an unlikely pair, yet they become the best of friends.

Steig conveys to the readers that even despite their drastic differences, Amos and Boris, became the best of friends. This asks the reader, what makes a good friend and why is friendship so special? Students can brainstorm a list of qualities they hope to find in a friend and then compare that to the qualities found in Boris and Amos’ friendship.

Other themes that students could choose are:

• helping others
• courage
• similarities and differences.

Students can create a storyboard to visually show the theme of friendship.

Here is an example for friendship:

Example 1:

Boris shows friendship to Amos by saving him and offering to take him to shore before meeting with the other whales. During the long journey, they talk and become the best of friends. Amos told Boris that he was grateful and that if Boris ever needed his help he would be happy to give it.

Example 2:

Amos shows friendship to Boris by saving his life. A hurricane forced Boris up on the shore and the quick thinking mouse ran to get elephants to push Boris back to the sea.

Student Instructions

Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in Amos and Boris. Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.

1. Click "Start Assignment".
2. Identify the theme(s) from Amos and Boris you wish to include and replace the "Theme 1" text.
3. Create an image for an example that represents this theme.
4. Write a description of each of the examples.