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Fribbet the Frog and the Tadpoles: A Captain No Beard Story should be readily welcomed into the personal libraries of all expectant families with soon-to-be or new siblings.

This is an educational tool that children will enjoy reading on their own or in a group setting being led by a teacher. Thank you, Loretta Neff, for providing a well-written and entertaining resource that teaches important life skills.

When a child experiences big feelings or emotions, it can be confusing, deflating, and sometimes scary for parents and the child. The 5 books listed here can help parents and children talk about and navigate the sometimes windy road of emotions.

Happy presents a cheerful introduction to emotions through the portraits of some very colorful and expressive fish that seem to be swimming in the depths of the dark sea.

How do we teach compassion?

By Luisa LaFleur, The Children’s Book Review
Published: February , 2012

Kids can be mean. Sometimes our kids are on the receiving end of the taunts and name-calling and that’s hard to deal with. But other times our kids are on the giving end and that’s even harder to deal with. Teaching children to be compassionate—to understand someone else’s suffering and to try and alleviate that suffering—is not easy. A key first step is to get children to understand that mean actions—teasing, name-calling and the like—can be hurtful. Here are a few books that can help impart the message that being kind to one another is essential and that the golden rule is paramount.

The Hundred Dresses

By Eleanor Estes; Illustrated by Helena Estes and Louis Slobodkin

Reading level: Ages 5 and up

Paperback: 80 pages

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing

What to expect: Lessons about friendship; allusions to poverty and immigration; harships

In The Hundred Dresses, which takes place around the time of World War I, Wanda wears the same faded blue dress to school every day. One day, in the midst of playful banter, Wanda tells her classmates that she has one hundred beautiful dresses at home, all lined up and that she wears the dresses on special occasions. The other girls don’t believe her and begin to tease her about it daily. One girl, Maddie, feels bad about the teasing but doesn’t speak up for fear the teasing will turn to her. But as time passes, she comes to see the error of her ways and learns how important it is to stand up for your friends.

This is an intricate story that offers many opportunities for discussion. Wanda is poor. She’s an immigrant from another country at a time when there were no social networks to provide support. She speaks with an accent that automatically sets her apart from the other girls. But in essence, she’s just a little girl who wants to fit in and have friends.

Add this book to your collection: The Hundred Dresses

Watch Your Tongue, Cecily Beasley

By Lane Fredrickson; Illustrated by Jon Davis

Reading level: Ages 5 and up

Hardcover: 22 pages

Publisher: Sterling Children’s Books

What to expect: Rude behavior and its aftermath

Cecily is a ghastly child. She’s rude, impertinent, ungrateful and can be downright mean. She doesn’t say please or thank you, she doesn’t share, and she sticks her tongue out at her classmates and teachers. But one day, her tongue gets stuck and she can’t put it back in her mouth. She has a hard lesson to learn about kindness and it takes some time but eventually Cecily realizes that she’s not been very nice to anybody.

This simple story has a strong message—sometimes we don’t realize how hurtful we c

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Add this book to your collection: The Classroom: The Epic Documentary of a Not-Yet-Epic-Kid 

Video courtesy of DisneyHyperion: Trevor Jones has been preparing for the start of seventh grade his entire summer. But he is NOT ready for the news his best friend, Libby, drops on him at the bus stop: he needs to branch out and make new friends. Oh, and he must ask a girl to the fall dance. By the end of the day. Trevor decides that he would rather squirt hot sauce in his eyes than attend the dance. Everything changes, though, when he meets mysterious new student Molly. Trevor starts to think that going to the dance maybe wouldn’t be the worst thing ever. But with detention-wielding teachers, school gossips, and, worst of all, eighth graders conspiring against him, Trevor will have to do the one thing he wasn’t prepared to do: be epic.

Original article: The Classroom: The Epic Documentary of a Not-Yet-Epic Kid

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Add this book to your collection: Chloe and the Lion

Video courtesy of DisneyHyperion: A hilarious and whip-smart take on fractured fairy tales, from rising stars Mac Barnett and Adam Rex.

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Add this book to your collection: Virginia Wolf

Video courtesy of kyomaclear1: 

“… an ambitious story about girlish blues, sisterly differences and the healing power of art …”
— The New York Times

“Vanessa’s act of love is recounted with grace and sensitivity in this remarkable collaboration.”
— Publishers Weekly

“Parents will enjoy sharing this book with their sometimes ‘wolfish’ children.”
— School Library Journal, starred review

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Reading level: 3-6

Add this book to your collection: Chloe, Instead

Video courtesy of ChronicleBooks: Molly always dreamed of having a sister who is just like her. But she got Chloe, instead. These two sisters are nothing alike: Molly loves to color with crayons. Chloe prefers the taste of wax. Molly loves to read. Chloe prefers to nibble a book’s spine. Molly is frustrated! But then she realizes that maybe sisters aren’t the ones next to you on the piano bench, they’re the ones dancing to the music you play! This humorous, perceptive snapshot of sibling love is perfect for those who may need a bit of convincing what fun little siblings can be!

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.