Tag: alone time

I Love You Already! (Jory John & Benji Davies)

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Hello, everyone! Our book today is I Love You Already! by Jory John and Benji Davies, a silly story about a duck, a bear, and the things we do for friendship.

Bear is very much looking forward to spending a cozy day at home with his books and his tea, but his friend Duck has other plans. The excitable and energetic Duck convinces Bear to come out on a Sunday stroll with him, then pesters him relentlessly in an effort to bond. Annoyed, Bear storms off for a few moments of peace, but Duck still tries to follow, hurting himself in the process. Seeing that his friend is hurt, Bear takes a breath and explains that sometimes, he just likes to be alone, and that Duck doesn’t have to try so hard to impress him: Bear loves his friend already.

This was a fun book, and enjoyable if you don’t take it too seriously. The text is written in a comic book-conversation-style, and the two characters’ dialogue is really well-written and tons of fun to read aloud (funny voices are key for this book – more’s the better!). It also has the nice message that wanting to be alone doesn’t mean you don’t like the person you’re with – sometimes, it just means you need to be on your own for a bit. Only complaint: Duck didn’t seem to learn this lesson very well at the end – he was still pestering Bear all the way home – which was very funny but didn’t really sell the moral of the story. However, JJ loved the illustrations, and the length was good, and it gave us a few really good laughs, so we enjoyed this one overall. Baby Bookworm approved!

Leave Me Alone! (Vera Brosgol)

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Hello, friends! Today, we read a lovely book called Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brosgol, a clever yet sentimental book that shows why everyone needs some alone time.

A little old grandmother lives in the forest in a small house – but with a BIG family. With winter approaching, she has some very serious knitting to do. Unfortunately, the constant interruptions by her thirty grandchildren are making it impossible. So the grandmother packs her bags and heads off to find a quiet spot to do her work, but with zero luck! Will she ever be able to finish her knitting? And, more importantly, will she ever return home?

This is one of those books that is fun and entertaining for little ones, but subtly imparts an important message: namely, that it is incredibly difficult to get some types of things done with lots of people and distractions around. I loved that at the end, once the grandmother had finished her knitting (which was sweaters for her thirty grandchildren), she actually longed for the presence of her family again. It showed that needing alone time doesn’t mean that the person doesn’t like you or want to be around you, just that sometimes people need or want to be on their own for a bit. A clever message within a funny and entertaining story, fantastic illustrations, and a good length for little ones. Loved it! Baby Bookworm approved!