"Smart is not
just being best
at spelling bees,
a tricky test.
Or knowing all
the answers ever ...
Other things
are just as clever."
In lilting rhyme and joyful celebration, this book lets ALL kids know that they are 'smart'. Every day in every way, children show their 'smarts' doing the things they love to do. Surprise! Those things are not all the same. There are so many ways for young children to express themselves, in smart and wondrous ways.
In a world intent on having every three-year-old (or eight-year-old) up to speed in learning what all other children their age are learning, we forget it is not the way the world works. Look around your workplace; is everyone doing the same thing in the same way every single day? What a boring place that would be. Why is it different for our youngest learners? They are so many ways to be smart; pigeon-holing them into reading levels and identical school lessons, while rarely looking at their strengths and smarts, could be causing much of the stress and anxiety so many of our young children are feeling every single day.
This book would be a perfect for reading at the start of the year, in the middle of the year, at the end of the year ... maybe every day of the school year. It is brilliant in its encouragement for children to celebrate what inspires them.
"Smart is not just ticks and crosses,
smart is building boats from boxes.
Painting patterns, wheeling wagons,
being mermaids, riding dragons.
Smart at drawing things with claws,
facts about the dinosaurs.
Folding up airplanes for flying ...
Smart is kindness when there's crying."
The artwork is made with ink, charcoal, and pencil before being digitally assembled. Rich, sunny hues bring attention to all that children do well. Affirmative in tone and charming, it is a book that will be read numerous times ... each time inspiring confidence and individuality. There is so much talent in a child's world, why not let it all shine through?
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