Lively Elizabeth! What Happens When You Push

Author: Mara Bergman

Illustrated by Cassia Thomas
Interest Level: Ages 4-7

From the Book Jacket: Lively Elizabeth lives up to her name - in fact, she's a little bit of a handful! She doesn't mean to hurt anyone, but one day at school she finds out that one little push can lead to BIG problems!

Why It's On My Bookshelf: Let me set the scene for you: It's recess. Children are playing joyfully. The recess bell rings. The students run towards their line and all of a sudden the joy is GONE. There are some kids crying, some on the ground holding scraped knees, others arguing and pointing at each other, and then I get to come over and sort it all out. 

ME: "What happened guys?" 
ANGRY STUDENT #1: "SHE PUSHED ME!!"
ANGRY STUDENT #2: "NAH AH! HE PUSHED ME!!!" 
ANGRY STUDENT #3: "I WAS HERE FIRST!"
SAD STUDENT #4: on the ground holding elbow and knee crying
ME: (lord help me)

Now granted this does not happen all of the time because we work really hard on having students line up safely - but these are kids - they are not perfect. My saving grace is always a social skills book. I've found a new one, Lively Elizabeth! What Happens When You Push, to help teach self-control and reinforce being safe in school.

Little Miss Lively Elizabeth is not in the same scenario at recess but she does decide to push another boy in class. Which causes a whole domino effect of kids falling into one another. Great illustrations showing cause and effect. 

She experiences the social consequences of kids being upset with her but is forgiven after making an apology for her behavior. Loved the making amends part. Although I've been reading it this Spring, I plan on re-reading it at the beginning of the school year next Fall. It's such a great addition to my library. I'm hoping it will help decrease my "Lord help me" moments at recess.


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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: Howard B Wigglebottom Learns to Listen

Author: Howard Binkow
Illustrated by Susan Cornelison
Interest Level: Preschool - Age 7


About This Book: Meet Howard B. Wigglebottom, a curious rabbit who just doesn't listen! This new illustrated book, has been created to help children, ages 4-7, improve their listening skills and pay attention. Educators, parents, and children alike will laugh and learn as Howard B. Wigglebottom learns to listen.

Reviews

"...an excellent teaching tool for children on the importance of good listening habits." -- The National Association of Elementary School Principals

...An excellent teaching tool for a mini lesson on the importance of good listening habits. Thank you. -- Maureen O'Neill, teacher, PS 279 Bronx, New York

...an excellent teaching tool for children on the importance of good listening habits. --The National Association of Elementary School Principals

It is useful to see good listening in a number of different contexts. Congratulations on such a meaningful book. -- Dr. Victoria Barnes, Los Angeles Office of Education

It is useful to see good listening in a number of different contexts. Congratulations on such a meaningful book. --Dr. Victoria Barnes, Los Angeles Office of Education

Very useful; it helps children see the importance of listening and paying attention. -- Ivelisse Portuono, teacher, John Quincy Adams Elementary, Dallas, Texas

Very useful; it helps children see the importance of listening and paying attention. --Ivelisse Portuono, teacher, John Quincy Adams Elementary, Dallas, Texas
 
Why It's On My Bookshelf: It is very difficult to find engaging and fun books that teach school skills. At least that has been my experience. Howard B Wigglebottom Learns to Listen is perfect for preschool - 1st grade. It is an excellent tool to teach listening skills. You can have a lot of fun with this book by using ideas from the author's website We Do Listen. I wish there were more books on the market like this to help teach listening to young children. If you are looking for more ways to teach school skills, get this on your bookshelf.
 
PS. To have even more fun with this book - wear bunny ears. The kids love it.

 

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Book Review: I'm Sorry

Author: Sam McBratney
Illustrated by Jennifer Eachus

Interest Level: Pre School-Kindergarten


About This Book: The author of Guess How Much I Love You (1995) offers a simple, straightforward contemporary story about a falling-out between two best friends that hints at a resolution but cleverly leaves it up to young listeners to decide if they agree. Eachus' gauzy, dappled watercolors and 1940s-style English countryside settings convey an old-fashioned, cozy feeling to the story about a subject that might otherwise have been upsetting to youngsters. The young boy narrator tells of his friendship with a little girl--exploring the farm, teaching dolls to read, being doctors and fixing broken bones. Then there's a sudden argument ("I SHOUTED at my friend today, and she SHOUTED back at me"), and the children avoid each other. The friendship seems irreparable until the little boy imagines what his friend would do if she were as sad as he. Gentle and understated in both text and art, this has a great deal to teach about empathy and forgiveness. The rich paper quality allows for repeated reading.


Why It's On My Bookshelf: Children are not born with language; it has to be experienced, learned, and taught. And that applies to the two simple words: I'm Sorry. Many students in my school live in homes where the words 'I'm Sorry' are not spoken. It's often a task left to the school. Saying 'I'm Sorry" is an alternative to bully or violent behavior. Some kids simply just lack the language and that may mean hitting another kid. To start introducing this concept early - get this book on your shelf. It will come in handy!


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Book Review: Glad Monster, Sad Monster A Book About Feelings

Authors: Ed Emberley and Anne Miranda

Interest Level: Ages 3-8

About This Book: Children who lack the vocabulary to distinguish the emotions they're feeling may find some comfort in this book, which makes use of masks to unmask feelings. Each spread shows little brightly colored monsters acting out different emotions--pink monsters cut out valentines and bake cookies to express love, yellow monsters play ball and open birthday presents in the name of happiness--while a gatefold page reveals a big mask of whatever emotion is covered in that spread. The eyes and noses are punched out, so children can hold those pages up and "wear'' the mask.

Why It's On My Bookshelf: What a cute book! It's just pure fun for little kids. Learning about feelings shouldn't be boring. They jump at the chance to put the mask on and 'try on' a feeling. It's been a wonderful addition to my shelf.


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Book Review: Two Girls Can!

Author: Keiko Narahashi
Interest Level: Ages 3-7


About This Book: Beginning with the electric pink cover featuring two girls in sunglasses with plenty of attitude, the book overflows with liveliness and a multicultural, capable cast of girls. They can "hold hands,/ give bear hugs,/ be best friends." Various pairs of girls climb trees, share treats and jokes, and even "get really, really mad,/ then make up and [are] brave together." In the grand finale, all the girls join together in an exuberant conga line dance. The text occasionally substitutes activities too arbitrary to demonstrate real friendship ("Two girls can stay dry, or get wet, and dry again"). Readers will feel empowered by the confidence emanating from the girls in these pages as they celebrate the everyday things they can do together.


Why It's On My Shelf: It's amazing to me that girls start to have friendship troubles so early in life. Relational aggression is happening in our kindergarten classes. Two Girls Can is a wonderful read for girls. Start teaching friendship skills as soon as you can! This cute little story starts out with a friendship between two girls but ends with many girls being included in the friendship. I want my girl students to know that we can all be friends - we never have to stop being friends and push others out. You'll want this little wonder of a book as part of a friendship unit. I wish there were more like this out there for girls!

Book Review: Martha Doesn't Say Sorry!

Author: Samantha Berger

Illustrated by Bruce Whatley

Interest Level: 4-8

About This Book: This is the story of Martha, an otter, and under NO circumstance, will say she’s sorry. But, then she realizes that her lack of remorse deprives her from things she loves like piggyback rides and cookies, she finally succumbs to sorry. Most parents want their kids to really feel sorry and apologize, but sometimes it requires strategic withholding to send the message. Message received loud and clear!

Why It's On My Bookshelf: Too many kids say sorry as lip service. I am a strong believer in teaching your child to not only say sorry, but more importantly to BE or FEEL sorry. It's all about the empathy and being social thinkers. I often tell kids, 'when you tell someone you are sorry - it's like giving them a gift'. The number one way (in my opinion) to teach children how to give that gift is to model it yourself (it also helps to have a good reinforcing book like this). Martha is a spunky little otter that will definitely remind you of behavior you might be seeing at home. There are not many books out there on the skill of apologizing, so this is worth reading with your child. Our kindergarten kids love it. Parents Magazine offers some good advice, on learning to say sorry.

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