I Can Help
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
Amazon Editors' Picks: Best Books Ages 6-8 (2021)
When Ms. Underwood asks if anyone wants to help Kyle, Zahra always volunteers. She loves spending time with Kyle—he's creative and generous, and he makes the funniest jokes at lunch. But when Zahra's other classmates start teasing her for helping him, she starts making choices she regrets.
I Can Help is a gentle, sensitive portrayal of reaching out, facing peer pressure, and learning from past mistakes. With thoughtful storytelling and poignant illustrations, this book will open discussions about choosing kindness in the classroom and beyond.
Arkansas State Library Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award Nominee (2023-2024)
South Dakota Library Association Prairie Bud Award PreK-1st Nominee (2023-2024)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This painfully honest look at the way unkindness can poison a classroom atmosphere is narrated by Zahra, a brown-skinned child who takes pride in helping white student Kyle, who "isn't great at handwriting or cutting or gluing either." Classmates Tess and Ashley gossip: "Kyle is such a baby" and ask Zahra, "Why do you help him?" That's all it takes. Zahra stops helping Kyle ("You're mean now," Kyle says), and every classroom interaction subsequently becomes freighted with her consciousness of the girls' scorn. Faruqi gives careful attention to all of the emotions Zahra feels, the better for readers to identify them in their own experience. Prevost contributes smudgy, muted tone images of sweet-faced, dot-eyed children of varying skin tones whose expressions are easy to read. Readers may recognize times when they felt as Zahra does—and vow to do better. Ages 4–8.
