Things that Make You Feel Good

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: I am a teacher and I love these books. Todd Parr has outdone himself yet again in writing this book. I am sure that it will be a hit with my class of first graders.

Rating:
Summary: New fun, funky emergent reader series
Review: I love the Todd Paar books! Neon-y colors and goofy, childlike art make these very simple books stand out from the crowd. Things that make you feel good include bubble baths, pets, hot chocolate with marshmallows, and bedtime stories. Things that make you feel bad include smelly feet, stinkbugs, worm stew, and monsters. The combination of things that are real and things that are silly will make you laugh and maybe take life a little less seriously. If you're a kid, there's an important self-esteem message in these books that the littlest kid can relate to.

Rating:
Summary: Labels may not be helpful for young children
Review: I love Todd Parr's animated illustrations and charm. But after purchasing this book and reading it to my 2-year old, I wasn't as excited about this particular book. The labels "good" and "bad" are used in a way that it introduces ideas into a young child's mind. Like some of the examples were "good:light", "bad: the dark". I am trying to teach my daughter NOT to think of the dark as something bad and not to be afraid of! So that's not too helpful. Also, it has "monsters: bad" as well as "big hairy spiders: bad". We're trying to convince my daughter that monsters don't exist, not that they are "bad" and make her scared even more. The other labels in the book are funny, like "smelly feet: bad" and "hot chocolate with marshmallows: good".

I know Todd Parr just wanted to write a funny book for kids. But if your children are at the stage where they are scared of things or take things very literally, then you might want to choose a different book!