Book Review: Noni Says No

Author: Heather Hartt-Sussman
Illustrated by Genevieve Cote
Publisher: Tundra Books
Interest Level: Ages 4-8

From the Book Jacket: Noni can do all sorts of things: tie her own shoelaces, recite the alphabet backwards, even walk to her friend Susie's house all by herself. But what Noni can't do is say no. When she finally finds her voice, the consequences are not what she - or the reader - expects. Many children will root for Noni as she learns that you can stand up for yourself and still be a good friend.

Why It's On My Bookshelf: Lots of kids put up with bad behavior in their friendships because they are afraid if they say "no" they will hurt the other person's feelings and lose them as a friend. As we read, a student pointed out, "Well, if they don't want to be your friend anymore because of that - they weren't your true friend in the first place." Ahhh....music to my ears!

Noni can't say no to Susie because she fears there will be a confrontation or maybe it will end the friendship. Susie on the other hand has no problem saying no. In fact, maybe she needs to learn to be a little more balanced and say yes. It even gets to the point where Noni allows Susie to cut off all of her hair! I kind of appreciated the extreme example. If you don't say no, you can be putting yourself in an awful situation. But Noni finally reaches her limit and has to say no. Before I turned the page to show Susie's reaction we talked about how a good friend should respond when they are told no. So do Noni's fears come true? No, they don't. Susie simply says, "Okay." Just like a good friend should.

This will be in my personal home library as well as at school. It's important to me to raise a kind child, but I worry that in the process some kids can become pushovers. A well balanced child should be empowered to say yes and no in social situations.

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Book Review: You're Mean, Lily Jean!

Author: Frieda Wishinsky
Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
Publisher: Albert Whitman
Interest Level: Ages 4-8

From the Book Jacket: When Lily Jean moves in next door, sisters Carly and Sandy are happy to have a new friend join their game. But Lily Jean changes everything. She decides they'll play house and orders Carly to be the baby. When they play king and queen, King Lily Jean tells Carly to be the royal dog! Tired of being bossed around, Carly comes up with a way to teach Lily Jean a lesson. With Sandy's help, can she turn a bully into a friend?

Why It's On My Bookshelf: Well, my 2011 favorites list just grew again! I am very passionate about the name of my blog because of books just like this one. I spend hours hunting for the ones with teachable moments that help children learn important social skills. Every K-3 class I read this to benefited in their friendships, sibling relationships, and helped curb bullying behavior.

There is a whole lot of bossing around going on in the story. Lily Jean is on a power trip and her behavior got a ton of disapproval from students. Carly is picked on because she is the little sister and Lily Jean wants to have Sandy all to herself. But what blessed my heart was how sweet and caring big sister Sandy is to Carly. She sticks up for her. It was a great stopping point to talk about how we need to look out for our siblings and make sure they are being treated with kindness. Carly sticks up for herself too and lets Lily Jean know she can hang with her and Sandy if she is nice. That's their friendship rule for Lily Jean. Stop being bossy and start being nice or go play alone. Lots of kids need to hear this truth. It's okay to say NO to bad behavior. Looking forward to reading this one to my own kiddo.  


Pictures of the inside of this book will be posted tomorrow. Technical difficulties are preventing the pictures from popping up in the blog post,

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Book Reviews: Bossy Bear and Just Like Bossy Bear

Bossy Bear
Author/Illustrator: David Horvath
Interest Level: Ages 2-8

About This Book: Bossy Bear is very bossy. He wants everything his way and he wants it NOW! In his picture book debut, the founder of the hugely successful Uglydolls franchise has created an irresistible new children's book character. With bold graphic art and hilarious, simple text, this book will have young readers recognizing -- and laughing at -- their own bossy tendencies. 

Bossy Bear not being so nice

  

Bossy Bear loses friends when he demands that he's the Boss

Just Like Bossy Bear
Author/Illustrator: David Horvath
Interest Level: Ages 2-8

About This Book: Bossy Bear is still bossing everyone around--always wanting things his way. But when Turtle starts exhibiting the same behavior, Bossy Bear makes some hilarious attempts at setting a better example. David Horvath brings us another irresistible tale about a bossy little bear and his best friend.


Bossy Bear's friend Turtle also starts being bossy



Bossy Bear decides it's time to change

Why They Are On My Bookshelf: These awesome books on bossy behavior weren't even on my radar until a very sweet 1st grade boy brought them to my attention. Kids have picked up on the type of books I read apparently. Ha! Reading these to the kids has been a blast and they seem to have fallen in LOVE with Bossy Bear. I can tell they really like the illustrations also. And do kids boss each other around or get bossy in friendships? OH YES! So if you are looking for an intervention...try these.

When I was buying the second book on Amazon I noticed there was also a little Bossy Bear figurine for purchase!! UM, HAD TO HAVE IT OF COURSE!


Bossy Bear Figurine

The first day I brought him to class it was as if I told the kids they were going to Disney Land when they saw the figurine. Lots of "OHHHHs" and "AHHHHs." He has Rock Star status with the students. They all got to hold him which seemed like it might have been the highlight of their life. Seriously, they were loving him. The best part is when we did bossy role plays - Bossy Bear took part in the lesson. Love it! He's also made an appearance in some of my small counseling groups. So excited I have this new tool to use with kids!


PS. I believe you can also buy Bossy Bear's friend - Turtle. But I haven't found it yet.....

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Book Review: The Sandbox: A Book About Fairness

Author: Don Rowe
Illustrated by Tim Archbold
Interest Level: Ages 4-7

About This Book: Johnny is friends with Tim at school and friends with Kylie at home. When Mrs. Smith asks Tim and Johnny to let Kylie join the game they are playing in the sandbox, they do not want to include her. "It's not fair!" they all say. Mrs. Smith agrees. A helpful teacher/parent guide is provided to ask insightful questions that will stimulate conversation and encourage problem solving skills.

Why It's On My Bookshelf: Have you ever given kids/students directions on how you would like them to play together? And then you look over and they are completely arguing and it's an all out war?!? This is a great opportunity to use stories that build community. The Sandbox is the perfect read for increasing peace and decreasing conflict. All kinds of learning lessons in this one. I totally dig the ending because it does not end on a super happy note. It ends with the kids experiencing the consequences and the teacher feeling frustrated. And here's why I love that - because it allows the students to sort out what went wrong and why nothing went right for the kids in the story. (and don't get me wrong....I love a happy ending but I need books that allow us to do some community thinking) So how can we avoid and prevent problems during playtime? Oh yes, get your behavior T-Charts ready. What should play look, feel, and sound like? Music to my ears! Trying to create a positive learning community can be difficult when you don't have the right resources and tools. Behavior can be really frustrating, add this one to your classroom management library if you are tired of being reactive and ready to be more proactive.


Find this book at Picture Window Books.

Book Review: Mine! Mine! Mine!

Author: Shelly Becker
Illustrated by Hideko Takahashi
Interest Level: Ages 3-6

About This Book: “My name is Gail, and here’s a tale that I would like to share…” Gail may happily share her tale…but never her toys, books, or other possessions. And that’s the problem in this entertaining story, narrated in rhyme by the resistant little girl herself.

Gail’s favorite words are “Mine! Mine! Mine!” and she uses them all the time. Even when she tries to follow her Mom’s good examples of generosity, Gail doesn’t get it quite right. “An ugly hat, a broken bat, a smelly, chewed-up shoe…” are all she’ll hand over during her Cousin Claire’s visit. Will Gail EVER become a “sharing superstar”?

With its adorable art and humorous perspective, this picture book makes its point in the most delightful way.

Why It's On My Book Shelf: I'm guessing 99.9% of kids go through the stage of 'Mine Mine Mine!' Oh yes, just the other day I saw kids burying coveted sand toys in the playground sandbox. Apparently, some were still learning that hoarding the toys is not cool. So it seemed like the appropriate time for a dose of Mine Mine Mine. As I read the story to kindergarteners, a wave of guilt seemed to sweep across the room. Students related to Gail's possessive behavior. At one point, a little girl blurted out, "Oh, she is really rude!" I let the outraged blurting continue throughout the first few pages, "She doesn't have any manners!" "That's really selfish!" As the story progressed the students quieted down and an overwhelming sense of empathy seemed to be developing towards Cousin Claire (Gail's victim). Author Shelly Becker does a marvelous job of making sure the reader sees how refusing to share can cause hurt feelings and you might even lose a play date. Gail's mom steps in to not just save the day but also models the importance of sharing and kindness. Liking that a lot! This is definitely my favorite book about sharing.

Book Review: The Recess Queen

Author: Alexis O'Neill

illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith

Interest Level: Ages 4-8

From the Book Jacket: Mean Jean was Recess Queen and nobody said any different. Nobody swung until Mean Jean swung. Nobody kicked until Mean Jean kicked. Nobody bounced until Mean Jean bounced. If kids ever crossed her, she'd push 'em and smoosh 'em, lollapaloosh 'em, hammer 'em, slammer 'em, kitz and kajammer 'em...until a new kid came to school...

Why It's On My Bookshelf: Trying to find books dealing with bullying in younger grades is often a frustration of mine, until I discovered The Recess Queen in my local bookstore. The little girl on the cover looks like the meanest baddest bully you have ever seen. Based on the title and the cover illustration alone, I was sold. As I read through the story at home, I was expecting the book to teach strategies on how to deal with mean kids at recess. But, The Recess Queen uses a different take on bullying. The strategy is to turn the bully into a friend (and we all know how hard it is to respect someone when they are disrespecting you) with kindness. Yes, there is a moment of standing up for oneself during the story, but it ends with kindness. I really appreciate the author using another child to turn Mean Jean's behavior around. It's been impactful in our K-2 grades. The illustrations are awesome and the kids love all the rhyming. Sometimes nobody knows what to do with the "mean", so I suggest this book to help children see the bully through a different perspective. Also, when I read this one, the kids are a bit appalled by Mean Jean's behavior. I secretly love that.

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