Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. 40 p., HarperCollins, 2007. In this story, it's OK to be just OK at things. The main character is a stick figure consisting of the letters OK, drawn sideways. The character says, "I like to try a lot of different things. I'm not great at all of them, but I enjoy them just the same." The character is "OK" at many things, from roasting marshmallows to playing baseball, climbing to flying a kite. The character is definitely no better than "OK" at sharing.or flipping pancakes. But that's OK. At the end of the story, the character says, "One day, I'll grow up to be really excellent at something. I don't know what it is yet ... but I sure am having fun figuring it out." Children receive an important message about attending to their internal reactions to activities rather than focusing all their attention on being great at them. This is especially helpful for children who tend to be perfectionistic. Ages 4-7
Showing posts with label perfectionism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perfectionism. Show all posts
Begin at the Beginning by Amy Schwartz
34 p., HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen, 2005. When you expect too much of yourself, it's hard to do anything at all. Sara learns this when she's assigned to paint a picture on behalf of her class. She's had a bad day at school, and is discouraged to begin with. At first, she thinks she'll paint a picture of the tree outside her window, but then she decides that she has to come up with a "very important" subject for this painting. After a large after-school snack, she decides to paint the entire earth, and in fact, the entire universe. But she finds herself unable to begin. It goes on this way until dinner time, when her whole family has ideas about how she should do it, which they express in a distressing cacophony. After dinner, Sara explains to her mother that she was going to paint the entire universe, but she can't do it. Her mother encourages her to begin at the beginning, and reminds her that the universe is made of people just like them, and rooms and houses like theirs. Sara realizes that she really can begin with the tree outside her window, and that that's manageable for her. She finally begins to paint. With simple, expressive, charming illustrations in a gentle color palette, this story shows children how to give themselves permission to let go of unrealistic expectations - an important lesson for so many children to learn. Ages 5-8