Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Book Review of Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed

Do the little ones in your babysitting co-op need a kindness lesson? Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed serves up a great kindness lesson without feeling like a lesson at all. It begins with a simple picture of a simple child and says, "Ordinary Mary was so very ordinary that you'd never guess she could change the world. This ordinary kid? She did! She changed the world!"

Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed is a tribute to random acts of kindness and the chains of positive events that can start with something very small. Written by Emily Pearson and illustrated by Fumi Kosaka, this book is a nice read-aloud for preschool-aged kids. They'll enjoy the bright, primary-colored illustrations and the interesting set of characters that influence the friends and strangers around them.

Sometimes I've found that when kids aren't sharing well, or when they're overtired, they just need a reminder about the power that is in them to influence others. Frankly, we all need that reminder from time to time. Reading a story like this one will help to re-set your kids' outlooks and get them back on track.