Review: A Child Is a Child by Brigitte Weninger & Eve Tharlet

Two young frogs are waiting for their Mommy and Daddy frogs to come back. Sadly, this never happens. Mr. Hedgehog, Mr. Mole, and Mrs. Blackbird speak of how they cannot be good parents for these children as they are too different. Along comes Mama Mouse with her children who states that she will take care of these children since “A child is a child. All children need a place to live and play, good food to eat and someone who loves them!”. This heartwarming tale does a beautifully simple job speaking of the fears of taking care of children who are not one’s biological children while recognizing the simplicity of all the children need in that moment. The use of animals allows for a more light hearted feel through a difficult subject, and an easier understanding of biological differences. This book is non specific on what happened to the parent frogs, and therefore can be read and interpreted by the child in whatever way is personal to them. This book is perfect for any young child who has experienced some sort of familial abandonment/loss and rehoming.

Resources:

Review: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brigitte-weninger/a-child-is-a-child/

Review & a place to buy this read: https://www.amazon.com/Child-Brigitte-Weninger/dp/0698400062

Review: The Little Things by Christian Trimmer & Kaylani Juanita

One day, a mighty storm causes many starfish to wash upon the beach. A young girl, who prefers three pigtails over two, begins to pick them up one by one. As she is doing so, an older man asks her what she is doing and states that she “can’t save them all” to which she acknowledges but replies “I can save this one”. This one small act of kindness inspires the man to pay it forward which ends in inspiring a community to do small acts of kindness that end up having a mighty effect. Throughout this journey of many kind acts, the book portrays characters of different ages, races, and levels of ability. The book does not emphasize on this, however it allows the reader to visualize characters both different and similar to them partaking in these kind actions. Along with this, the book mentions a unique fact about each character which allows for self-love to be portrayed through this story as well. Even if this was not the authors intended actions. It should be noted, that this book has an amount of text that may be too much for some of the youngest readers. This book is great for the young reader who is learning about the importance of kindness, no matter how small the action may seem.

Resources:

Christian Trimmer’s Website: http://www.christiantrimmer.com/the-little-things

Lesson plan: https://www.theworldasitcouldbe.org/curriculum-and-resource-guide-2/stories-activities-1stgrade/