Marsha Diane Arnold's lovely friendship/nature picture books are no strangers to my blog. I've had the privilege of sharing several: May I Come In?, Badger's Perfect Garden, Mine. Yours Lights Out and Galapagos Girl. She's back again with her newest book, One Small Thing (Beaming Books) which comes out next week! You can find the story behind this story on her website where you'll also find a downloadable activity guide. The child-friendly illustrations are by Laura Watkins.
REVIEW
Quickly, the reader is drawn into the story. Something awful has happened in Brightly Wood!
The animals care that Raccoon lost his home, but they don't know what to do. Mouse feels too small to help, Rabbit hopes someone else will help him, Squirrel sniffles and is sad. Those three go home and return to their normal lives.
Beaver, on the other hand, can't get a nagging question out of his head. "Where will Raccoon live now?" Badger has his own worrisome problem. What happened to Raccoon's friend, a silly cricket? He goes on a quest to find him.
While Beaver builds a new house for Raccoon and Badger hunts for the cricket, the other three friends realize that there really is "one small thing" they each can do for Raccoon.
In the end, Raccoon has a new home, and his friends learn that even small acts of kindness are big.
CONVERSATION STARTER
Although this story may seem obvious to adults, we need to see it through the eyes and experiences of young children. They hear about people getting sick, losing their home or a loved one. Little ones will identify with the characters' feelings of helplessness. Hopefully, they will be inspired when they see a small (or big!) way to help a friend in trouble and take away the importance of caring even through small acts of kindness.
I picture a librarian or teacher holding this book up and sharing it with a group of young listeners. The obvious questions the adult asks will be, "Have you ever felt like any of these animals?" and "What did you do to help a friend?" or "What could you do in the future?"
GIVEAWAY
Please leave a comment with your name and email address if you are new to my blog. You can also email me if you prefer. U.S. postal addresses only and educators or librarians get two chances. The giveaway ends May 6th. Don't worry if you don't see your comment immediately. I need to vet all comments before they go live.
18 comments:
This looks adorable! Love the art work. And what a great theme. We all need to be reminded to do what we can.
This looks like such a sweet story! I love the illustrations and the message that we all have ways we can help when someone is in need.
Thank you, Becky. Your name goes in the hat!
Great blog post on a great book. No need to enter my name for this one--just wanted to say I like your review!
Thanks, Marci!
Such a sweet story! Thanks for sharing it. ryc1011@hotmail.com
Such a sweet story. Thanks for sharing!
ryc1011@hotmail.com
What a timely and important concept. Thanks for bringing this book to the attention of so many.
You're welcome, Lois. Thanks for leaving a comment.
Thank you for stopping by, Rose.
Thank you for this opportunity. Tammi (tmitchell@usd214.org)
Thanks for leaving a comment and subscribing to my blog, Tammi!
Imagine what our world would be like if everyone did one small thing to help someone else. This message is so simple, and yet, when practiced, can make a huge difference. May the book and it's wonderful message find it's place into many homes and hearts.
Thank you, Kathy, for your sweet response!
Thank you to everyone for leaving such kind comments about ONE SMALL THING. One young reader recently said, after reading the book, "I'm going to do one small thing for everyone."
I love that quote, Marsha!!
What a sweet story with such a powerful message. Thank you for introducing us to this wonderful, heartwarming book.
You're welcome, Danielle. Thanks for leaving a comment!
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