All the ways to be smart

In this cheerful exploration of all the nonstandard ways a person can be smart, the creators paint an expansive picture of intelligence that goes well beyond "being best/ at spelling bees,/ a tricky test." Notably, Bell's definition includes different types of abilities--creative, emotional, and social--such as "kindness when there's crying," "saying hi and bye/ to people when they feel all shy," and "feeling scared/ but taking chances." Fanciful creatures, including a dragon, unicorn, and fairy, appear alongside children throughout--monsters join a tea party, animals take up games--emphasizing the rhythmic anything-is-possible message. Colpoys's ink, charcoal, and pencil drawings burst with a profusion of neon orange and green, literally highlighting each scene with an incandescence that more than matches the rhyming couplets' jauntiness. A feel-good paean to individuality. Ages 3--6. (Sept.)

"Smart is not just being best / at spelling bees, a tricky test. / Or knowing all the answers ever / Other things are just as clever."Simple, flowing words coupled with fluorescent illustrations (created from ink, charcoal, and pencil, then digitally assembled) give young readers a book brimming with examples of how they are smart all day, every day. Smart at makinglike gluing wings on Halloween bats, concocting slime, and "building boats from boxes." Smart at understanding peoplelike offering sympathy, "saying hi and bye / to people when they feel all shy," and "being sorry when you're naughty." Smart at "growing, throwing, / bubble blowing," "crazy dances! Horsey prances! / Feeling scared but taking chances," and even "sitting still and quiet for ages." Realistic illustrations show children of varying racial presentations joining sentient animals and benign, hairy monsters to confidently explore their world, real and imagined. There is no narrative throughline as such, but double-page spreads are thematically unified. Children soar on dragons, lecture dinosaurs, play with pirates, show off in a circus, and explore space while always receiving the message that "every hour of every day, / we're smart in our own special way. / And nobody will ever do / the very same smart things as you."Affirming. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.