That's Not Right

Children's Literature

Telling stories isn't easy. Stories have to have a beginning, a middle, and an end, which is something that Ellie knows all about. But a story also has to be interesting and fair to the characters. When Ellie's class writes stories about animals, Ellie's story is about a bug that gets squished by a shoe. But when she reads her story to her mother, it is overheard by a bug who remarks that "That's not right!" So the bug tells his own story where instead of getting squished, the shoe lands on a sharp rock and gets cut while the bug goes back to its house under a rock. The bug's wife exclaims "That's not right!" and tells her own story and even the shoe gets to tell its side of the story that is more fair to the shoe than the other stories. Each story is more elaborate than the last, but each is fun and inventive and manages to teach Ellie a bit more about writing stories. The full color illustrations show Ellie throughout the day and the events that take place during the numerous stories told throughout. At the end of the text is a fun exercise that will help children write a story of their own and information from the author and illustrator explaining how they do their work. 2004, Crabtree Publishing Company, Ages 5 to 8.
—Danielle Williams

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-These stories incorporate facts that will please beginning readers who love nonfiction. In the first, Kicky the frog is upset that he still has his tadpole tail. Although his friend assures him that it's only a matter of time before it falls off, he is still impatient. In the end, the tail helps him to swim faster and escape piranhas, before it finally drops off. This story would be useful to introduce the life cycle of frogs, or, with its coming-of-age and friendship themes, for units on character education. In That's Not Right, young Ellie writes a short story about a bug getting stepped on. Later that evening, she meets a sow bug that retells the tale from his perspective. His wife provides her own account and the shoe provides a third version. This book offers a good example of point of view. In the final title, Josh forgets to bring the chocolate for a cake his class is baking. Everyone is upset with him, but he saves the day when he uses his magic backpack to travel to Africa to get cocoa. Forgetfulness, responsibility, and friendship are the major themes in this easy-reader. Each title ends with a related craft or activity and is illustrated with vivid cartoon artwork.-Christine E. Carr, Lester C. Noecker Elementary School, Roseland, NJ Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.