A well-written, useful process for children dealing with bullies.
When a classmate hurts a little girl’s feelings, her teacher puts things in perspective in this debut picture book.
Ze, a cheerful brown-skinned girl, loves soccer, art, and math. But one day, a classmate says something mean to Ze, “the worst thing ever,” leaving the girl curled up on the floor, crying. Her teacher, Miss Work, comforts her; she acknowledges Ze’s wounded feelings, saying they’re part of life, although you don’t have to let people hurt you either. Writing down positive statements about Ze like “I know I am creative,” the teacher attaches them to a cutout heart. By remembering these truths, Ze can make her heart strong, brave, and dependable, says Miss Work: “Wrap your sadness with it. It will help you feel better.” The girl’s heart becomes so mighty that when a student cries from bruised feelings, Ze can console her. In her story, Sbarboro offers a practical approach to bullying. Affirmations can help strengthen self-esteem as well as providing a constructive activity rather than merely depending on “don’t bully” messages. And Ze doesn’t have to do anything extraordinary to earn good treatment, as in many kids’ books. The illustrations by Leach (Mommy, Please Don’t Go to Work!, 2018, etc.) depict a diverse classroom, combining mostly flat colors with scribbly scrawls that deftly express emotions.
A well-written, useful process for children dealing with bullies.Pub Date: July 22, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9992420-0-1
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Montgomery Publishing Company
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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BOOK REVIEW
The glowing friendship of Frog and Toad continues, with Frog as the wiser, supportive partner easing Toad through his small frustrations and uncertainties. Frog plays the sympathetic sounding board while Toad convinces himself to clean house today and take it easy tomorrow instead of the other way round; he encourages Toad through a fourth and finally successful try at kite flying despite the robins' ridicule; he scares himself and Toad with a shivery ghost story that might or might not have happened to him; and, less admirably perhaps, he shrinks Toad's too-big birthday hat with water while leading his friend to believe that Toad's own big thoughts have enlarged his head. Once more, Lobel leaves the two with their friendship reaffirmed, this time after Toad misinterprets his friend's desire to be alone for a while. As in Frog and Toad All Year (1976) the relationship has settled into a comfortable, conflict-free pattern; but the complementary pair continues to delight and vulnerable Toad to invite sympathetic recognition.
Pub Date: Oct. 3, 1979
ISBN: 081243417X
Page Count: -
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1979
BOOK REVIEW
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