Additional information
| Publisher | RHUS CHILDREN'S BOOKS; Illustrated edition (15 February 2018) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 40 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 152476955X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1524769550 |
| Reading age | 4 – 8 years |
| Dimensions | 23.83 x 1.02 x 28.91 cm |
Children’s Lit Love –
A must-have for any personal library
From the first illustration on the title page to the final illustration on the “for the adults” page, this wordless beauty takes readers young and old on the emotional journey of two characters, the new student who is the victim of hurtful behavior and the bystander (and eventual upstander or ally). We even gain a tiny glimpse into the emotions of the bully in the book, from when it’s obvious that he’s in a bad mood just before he hurts the victim, to when he realizes that it seems just about every other child in school really likes the new student. We see a child and her family moving into a new house, and then we realize that she is also a new student at school. The husband/wife duo known as Kerascoet allow us to understand how lonely she feels that first day of school, and how sad and embarrassed she feels after she is bullied. We also see how conflicted the bystander is… She isn’t sure what to do to help the victim in the moment, and she spends the rest of the evening and morning mulling over how she can assist. This decision is something most school-aged readers will be able to identify with, which allows parents and caregivers reading the story with the children easy conversation starters.The authors/illustrators also includes discussion questions at the back of the book. As a former third grade teacher, I appreciate that the questions aren’t targeted solely towards bullies and bullying behavior, but that the wording is more open to also include “someone who is being hurt,” “kids being mean,” and “aggressors.” There is indeed a fine line between someone being mean and bullying behavior, and the use of both types of language will help children avoid the overuse of the label “bully.”Of note— given that this book is wordless, readers don’t know for sure whether Vanessa is the victim or the ally, and I love that ambiguity. We’re not sure if the “I” of “I Walk With Vanessa” is the girl who struggles over what to do about the hurtful behavior she saw (making Vanessa the victim), or if the “I” is the victim who gets to walk with her new empowering friend Vanessa. I personally like that this ambiguity allows the story to be read from either perspective.If you are a parent, caregiver, grandparent, teacher, babysitter, or friend to school-aged children, please make this book a part of your personal library and visit it often. Use the conversations that it starts to help your children help make the world a kinder, more empathetic place.
Huber –
Please make this a BIG book for school use!
I attended a teaching conference where another teacher recommended this book to me. I immediately went to the app for my local library to place it on hold. I sat with my own two children, ages 6 and 8, to read it. We all enjoyed the book! My children immediately noticed how some images used color to emphasize specific characters while others blend into the background. They were touched by the story line. I loved it so much that I decided to order it for classroom use. I know this book will be valuable to my students in multiple ways, however, the illustrations are not very large. I am hoping my document camera will be able to enlarge the pictures onto my screen. I don’t know if I will be able to capture some of the images that span two pages, though. I hope the publishers will consider creating a version that will be easier to use for whole group instruction. I would love to use this for multiple teaching points in my kindergarten classroom.
Tomas Milo –
A sweet wordless picture book!
A simple and powerful book about kindness. In a classroom setting, it was a great conversation starter for discussing bullying, loneliness, and inclusion. I always enjoy reading wordless picture books with the class because everyone sees something different in each page, and we discuss each page at length. I thought this book was beautifully illustrated. Through these simple illustrations, there was great care and detail in the expressions of each character that my 2nd graders understood and empathized with the characters’ feelings. Lastly, I appreciated that this book had four bullet points at the end of the book about how children can help someone who is being bullied. It was a nice way to end the book, and helped emphasize the book’s overall message.
fatma –
Versatile story
The most important thing for me is it includes drawing with no words. It allows your kid to come up with his own story. I like that it give my kid the lead to explore the drawing & think about what is happening.
MasterStudent –
A wonderful book!
Beautiful book and so happy I purchased it. I bought it for social skills lessons for a kindergarten class, but before taking it to work, “read” it to my 4-year old son. He loved it and was sad that I took it to work. The kindergarten class was so receptive and responsive. I really like that it prompts kids to pay attention to non-verbal communication and to identify feelings and emotions, and employ their empathy skills. I’m especially appreciated of the great way the book differentiated between telling and tattling–“Telling is to get someone out of trouble. Tattling is to get someone in trouble”.