April 1, 2009
Gr 1-3-A combination of concise text, plenty of white space, effective use of color, and crisp photography makes this series appealing and easy to read. After a definition of and discussion of the topic at hand (What is Caring?), real-world scenarios are described. Fairness, for example, may be an issue at home, during school, on the playground, or in sports. Children are asked to think beyond the text and bring in ideas from their own experiences. The color photographs show a multiethnic group of boys and girls. Boys wash dishes as well as play outside; girls shovel snow, play soccer, and cook. A Find Out More section at the end of each book lists two additional titles and two Web sites. Children will be able to understand the advice in these books and apply it to their own lives.
Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2014
Gr 2-4-Written with clarity, these slender volumes all begin by defining their specific topics and then offer many concrete examples of children exhibiting the featured behavioral characteristic on a personal level and then within the context of a wider population. Bullying describes how bullies hurt others and ways to stop them, but this book is more limited than Addy Ferguson's Are You a Bully?, which includes reasons people might behave as bullies. Citizenship examines good citizenship but does not distinguish between a native-born citizen and a naturalized citizen, as Leslie Harper does in What Is Citizenship? (both Rosen, 2013). Respect details how children can show respect; however, Cynthia A. Klingel's Respect (The Child's World, 2008) goes further by organizing ways of respecting into precise categories. Responsibility discusses individual as well as community responsibility, while Sportsmanship, in comparison to Kelly Doudna's Play Fair! (ABDO, 2007), is targeted to an older primary level audience. Consistent in layout, Raatma's books all have large, captioned color photos of active children. These photos, paired one per page opposite the dry narratives, showcase other examples of the character traits not always mentioned in the corresponding texts. Related questions and recommended activities invite children's responses to the material. These titles offer acceptable basic material for primary-level character-education lessons and provide educators with specific applicable questions and activities to augment them.-Lynn Vanca, Freelance Librarian, Akron, OH
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.