The Nice Book is indeed nice. It has bright, child-friendly artwork and a nice choice of words and rhymes that are simple and appealing. And while I could go on and describe how The Nice Book will please younger children --toddlers and preschoolers in particular-- I'm going to spin off and talk about how adults can use this book as a vehicle to discuss emotions and behavior.The book, I think, works as a means to talk to children about behavior because it uses humor and exaggeration to get its points across-- with no finger wagging. For example, in the tableau about 'hugging' The Nice Book explains that it's alright to Squeeze... (the book shows a big monkey and a little one hugging) but ... not too hard!" It then shows two boa constrictors, one of which is obviously over doing it! The artwork and the simple words are easy for even very young children to understand; and of course, we adults can then step in and give them an example from their own experiences that they might want to think about in that context.
I certainly wish I had had this book on hand when my own children were learning to play with our cat! It's okay to Pat as long as you don't ... STOMP FLAT!
Final Considerations:::
This is a charming book that lets adults and kids talk about emotions and behavior. The gentle humor and the artwork convey the messages very well.
And it would make a fine book for my buddies that are reading to HeadStart kids, and for preschool teachers to read to their classes.
The Accelerated Reading number for this book is a generic "1", which means that the vocabulary in this book is at the 1st Grade level, although the precise month in First Grade hasn't been determined.
Where's The Nice Book? Look HERE for other reviews and an Amazon Look Inside
David Ezra's Website
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