Review by Booklist Review
Written in simple everyday language, these 14 free verse poems show young people in acts of sharing, caring, or kindness from giving up a bus seat to an elder, or sharing a sandwich with a schoolmate who has no lunch, to donating hair for a patient's wig, cleaning up a littered stream, and writing a letter to a soldier. The idea of paying it forward is a recurring one. Trees suggests, Maybe they'll remember / what this street once looked like / and go to a place / in need of some trees, / and plant a few saplings / like I'm doing today. Ladd's thickly brushed paintings feature intergenerational pairings among the multicultural cast. Though perhaps not likely to spark changes in behavior on their own, in conjunction with home or classroom discussions about social responsibilities, waging peace, or bullying, these instances of individual and collective giving may serve as inspiring models.--Peters, John Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-5-Acrylic and pastel paintings depict children, teens, and adults of varying ages, races and abilities going about their daily routines: eating lunch in a cafeteria, getting a haircut, reading in a library. The accompanying short poems, however, depict simple acts of kindness, adding a further dimension to the book. For instance, the poem "Sandwich" describes a girl offering another student part of her lunch ("At noon, I noticed/the new kid/sitting alone/with only the words of a book/to feed her."), paired with an illustration of the two. It would be easy for a book with this title to hit readers over the head with its message. Instead, this is a gentle book that will add value to any classroom or library collection. For a different angle on the same topic, pair this book with David Ezra Stein's Because Amelia Smiled (Candlewick, 2012).-Toby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, IL (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Frank and Ladd join forces to present common opportunities for children to help others.Ranging from quiet, solitary acts such as writing a letter to a soldier stationed abroad to publicly cheering for the class klutzs first hit at bat, these 14 free-verse poems and Ladds richly textured accompanying acrylic-and-pastel spreads show how easy and rewarding extending oneself can be. In fact, the accessibility of Franks diction underscores the simplicity of the giving acts described. For example, Sandwich tenderly depicts a youngsters lunchtime encounter with the new kid / sitting alone / with only the words of a book / to feed her. The speaker shares half of my sandwich, then notices that though I had / only half for myself, / after I ate it / I somehow felt full. Likewise, No Charge captures the contagious causality of being on the receiving end of a kind act: When a bike-shop attendant provides a quick tune-up for free, the young rider then passes on that courtesy by helping a woman load grocery bags into her car but refusing a tip. Ladds evocative illustrations lend a literal depth to the poems, helping young and pre-readers envision themselves in these situations even further.At once familiar and slightly out of the box, these giving scenes gently suggest that even the smallest acts can inspire and achieve great ends. (Picture book/poetry. 5-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
