Book Review - But Why Can’t I? (Sue Graves)

~ Posted on Friday, August 12, 2011 at 10:34 AM ~

(** Article first published as Book Review: But Why Can't I? by Sue Graves on Blogcritics)

I have the privilege of reviewing " Our Emotions and Behavior", a new picture book series from Free Spirit Publishing, which help young children recognize and understand their feelings, their actions, and how they are connected. There are 4 titles in the series: "But Why Can’t I?", "I’m Not Happy", "Not Fair, Won’t Share", and "Who Feels Scared?" and below is my review for the first book in the series...

Title: But Why Can't I? (Our Emotions and Behavior)
Author: Sue Graves

Illustrated by: Desideria Guicciardini

Publisher:  Free Spirit Publishing
ISBN-13/-10: 978-1575423760 / 1575423766
Board book, full-color: 32 pages
Dimension: 7¾" x 9½" 

Description from the product page:
" Kids and rules don’t always make a perfect match right away. Following rules that adults make can be hard for children, yet it is an important skill in character education and development. They want to know, “But why can’t I?”

Part of Free Spirit’s new series of "Our Emotions and Behavior" books, But Why Can’t I? explores these feelings using simple text, cheerful illustrations, and a light touch of humor. When Jenny comes over to babysit, Noah doesn’t want to do what she says. Rules for games, rules for bedtime—rules, rules, rules! But Jenny helps him understand that adults have to follow rules as well as kids, and rules help keep everybody safe, healthy, and happy.

Following the story, a series of pictures invites children to tell a story in their own words about following rules. A section for adults suggests ideas for talking with kids about why rules are important, and gently presents positive coping skills for children when it comes to dealing with their emotions. Ideal for home and K–3 classroom settings."

I love the cute illustrations and I'm so glad to be able to review this book!

This book is about 2 children (Noah and Rosie) being left under the care of a babysitter named Jenny for the day. I like that the author included the example following the rules such as what to do when you cross the road and when you are playing games.

However, I find it hard to relate to the example given by the babysitter to Noah (when he refuses to go to bed)  which is the consequences she has to go through if she is not following rules while at work as I feel that children at Ben's age (he's 29 months now) will not be able to understand that (he does understand the concept of working)

I do however appreciate the additional 2 pages of picture story about a girl dropping her can of drink on the path as I get to use the example to further teach Ben about the rules - not to litter and to be considerate and apologise for your mistake.

In my opinion, "Our Emotions and Behavior" series are a good choice for parents to use with their children because of the positive message they bring!

You can get this book from Free Spirit Publishing, Amazon and many more.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a softcopy of the book by Free Spirit Publishing in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

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