This delightful picture book from Ashley Spires, bestselling author of The Most Magnificent Thing, perfectly depicts what children go through when confronted with something difficult. With humor and endearing artwork, Spires sensitively portrays Lou procrastinating, making excuses, imagining alternatives and denying she cares. Ultimately, Lou faces her fear, and although she fails, the effort empowers her, encouraging a growth mindset. All the while, Lou s friends model compassionate friendship by offering to teach her how to climb and then moving the game. This book makes a perfect choice for a character education discussion about courage or resilience, or a life-skills lesson on facing challenges. The story also promotes the joy of imaginative play in the outdoors.
- Books
- Kids Fiction & Indies
- Kids Fiction
- The Thing Lou Couldn't Do
The Thing Lou Couldn't Do
Author(s)
Publisher
Genre(s)
Age Range
6+
Release Date
April 02, 2017
ISBN
9781771387279
Buy This Book
Editor reviews
2 reviews
A Splendid Picture Book about Facing Challenges
Overall rating
4.0
Plot
N/A
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
The first thing that occurred to me when I read this book was how much I could relate to the protagonist, Lou. I used to be the least adventurous person in my group of friends, and I’d always have spectacular excuses for procrastinating something I was scared of doing. Things haven’t changed much, unfortunately!
Lou and her friends are solid adventurers—they do all sorts of fun things like rescuing wild animals and building impenetrable fortress. Lou herself wants to be a deep-sea diver or a race-car driver or a pirate! Ah, speaking of pirates—her friends want to take their adventure to an all new level . . . by making a tree their ship. Lou, however, has a hundred good reasons not to climb that tree. But when her excuses run out, she has no choice but to rise above her fears.
THE THING LOU COULDN’T DO is a splendid picture book that addresses childhood fears in a light and entertaining way. The illustrations are simple but charming and complement the text wonderfully. I especially loved the ending because it didn’t show Lou overcoming the challenge successfully the first time. Instead, the emphasis was on the fact that she tried and was willing to persevere.
Honestly, I’d recommend this to adults as well.
Lou and her friends are solid adventurers—they do all sorts of fun things like rescuing wild animals and building impenetrable fortress. Lou herself wants to be a deep-sea diver or a race-car driver or a pirate! Ah, speaking of pirates—her friends want to take their adventure to an all new level . . . by making a tree their ship. Lou, however, has a hundred good reasons not to climb that tree. But when her excuses run out, she has no choice but to rise above her fears.
THE THING LOU COULDN’T DO is a splendid picture book that addresses childhood fears in a light and entertaining way. The illustrations are simple but charming and complement the text wonderfully. I especially loved the ending because it didn’t show Lou overcoming the challenge successfully the first time. Instead, the emphasis was on the fact that she tried and was willing to persevere.
Honestly, I’d recommend this to adults as well.
User reviews
There are no user reviews for this listing.
Already have an account? Log in now or Create an account
Latest Additions
GET A YABC BUTTON!
We have all sorts of YABC buttons for your website. Grab one here and link to YABC!