Social Skills – Sneak Peek Books

Clovis Keeps His Cool

Clovis has a terrible temper. He’s been learning how to control it with calming tea, deep breaths, and his beloved late granny’s wise words in mind: “Grace, grace. Nothing broken to replace.” His new job running her old china shop helps put him at peace.

But when bullies from his football days come to heckle him at the shop, Clovis faces a big challenge that even deep breaths and Granny’s words might not be enough for. Will Clovis give in to the urge to charge even if it means destroying something he loves?

In stressful situations, Clovis tries his best to stay calm. However, when heckler’s break his granny’s teacup, Clovis charges. When he has the hecklers cornered, Clovis is reminded of his granny’s words, which allows him to calm down. In a unique twist, Clovis invites the hecklers to have a cup of tea with him. In the end, the hecklers help Clovis clean up the mess in granny’s shop. “Little by little, they helped Clovis pick up the pieces, putting right what had gone wrong. And always Clovis served tea. By the time his shop reopened, a few things had changed. Clovis had old hobbies, new friends, and plenty of grace to go around.”

Through Clovis’ experiences, the reader will learn ways to destress. For example, Clovis listens to soothing music, he does yoga, he has chamomile tea, and he breathes to the count of ten. However, Clovis isn’t perfect and he loses his cool, but he finds a way to make everything right. When Clovis was being bullied, he could have retaliated, but instead, he treated the hecklers with kindness and they found common ground. Some younger readers may not understand all the underlying themes in Clovis Keeps His Cool, but it will give parents the opportunity to discuss anger, bullying, and forgiveness with their children.

While Clovis Keeps His Cool is an entertaining story on its own, the illustrations are wonderfully fun and humorous. For example, the contrast between Clovis’ large size and the tiny china in the tea shop will make readers smile. Clovis’ facial expressions are detailed and help the reader understand his varied emotions. Readers will also enjoy looking for the cat that pops up in several pages.

Even though Clovis Keeps His Cool is a picture book, the story is intended to be read aloud to a child, rather than for the child to read it for the first time independently. Each page has 2 to 4 sentences. However, some of the sentences are complex and readers may need help understanding some of the vocabulary. The varying size of the text adds interest to the page and also helps reinforce when Clovis is angry. The story’s alliteration, onomatopoeia, and dialogue make the story fun to read aloud.

Clovis Keeps His Cool will resonate with every young child because everyone gets angry at times. The unique setting, animal characters, and entertaining story will keep readers engaged as it teaches the importance of staying calm. Whether you’re looking for an educational book or a book to read just for fun, Clovis Keeps His Cool is an excellent choice.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

Hecklers come into the tea shop and one throws a teacup at Clovis. Angry, Clovis “tore through town, hot on the hecklers’ hooves. The stampede didn’t stop until he’d chased them to the end of a dark alley. . . Clovis snorted and pawed the ground.” Clovis controls his temper before he hurts anyone.

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

Someone calls Clovis a wimp.

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

Angus All Aglow

Angus loves sparkly things so much that he can hear them. To Angus, shiny objects not only look beautiful, they also crackle, buzz, and go whiz-bang-POP! His unique ability is lost when Angus wears his grandma’s beaded necklace to school, and his classmates tease him for his unusual choice. Saddened by their laughter, Angus stops hearing the sparkle.

Without sparkly things in his life, Angus is sad. Before being teased, Angus loved the diamond studs on the collar of his dog, Sherlock. After being teased, Angus pushes Sherlock away because Sherlock’s collar has sparkly diamond studs that make Angus feel bad. As the story progresses, Angus’ emotions are explained in unique ways that younger readers can understand. For example, when Angus’ classmates tease him, their “laughter was like the downpour of freezing rain.”

In order to be accepted, Angus thinks he is going to have to give up sparkly things. One of Angus’ classmates shows him acceptance, friendship, and a shared love of all things sparkly. In the end, Angus gains a new friend and a new understanding that it’s okay to be different. Instead of feeling embarrassed because he likes sparkly things, Angus’ newfound friend and confidence make him glow from the inside out.

Angus Aglow should be on everyone’s reading list not only because of the positive message but also because the text and pictures are beautifully sparkly. Angus Aglow is packed full of fun words including new vocabulary, similes, and onomatopoeias. The text is fun to read aloud, and it also has some wonderful elements such as brightly colored font and larger text for important words.

The full-page illustrations use bright colors and fun details that younger readers will want to look at again and again. Angus’s classroom is diverse, and his new friend is an African American girl, which reinforces the idea that people do not have to be exactly alike in order to be friends. Each page has 2-7 sentences per page along with illustrations that show Angus’ expressive emotions. Even though Angus Aglow is a picture book, the story is intended to be read aloud to a child rather than for a child to read it for the first time independently.

Angus Aglow will help younger readers understand the value of acceptance and friendship. The story uses figurative language that makes the story fun to read. Angus Aglow will remind readers that they should embrace the things that make them feel sparkly inside.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

None

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

Shawn Loves Sharks

Sean loves sharks. He has 126 shark books, which have taught him a lot about ocean predators. Sean loves how sharks have a big mouth full of sharp teeth. Sean does not love his classmate Stacy. He loves to pretend to be a shark and chase Stacy around the playground.

Sean loves sharks more than anything else in the world. When his teacher announces that every student will do a report on a predator, Sean is excited write about the shark. But he isn’t assigned the Great White Shark. When Stacy begins researching sharks and acting like one at school, Sean turns mean. Is there any way sharks can bring Sean and Stacy together?

Young shark lovers will love Sean Loves Sharks. Although the story has shark facts, it is also about building new friendships and discovering new things. Sean acts like a shark as he goes through his day—he chops his food and pretends to chomp the cat and his classmates as he chases them. When Sean is forced to learn about seals, he is incredibly disappointed, but as he reads he learns that seals are actually really amazing.

At one point, Sean is really mean to Stacy. As he thinks about his behavior, he realizes that “he knew that even a fast and clever seal could never be friends with a shark.” The conclusion is absolutely, adorably wonderful and will lead to some great discussions between parents and their young readers. Readers will not only learn facts about sharks and seals, but will also learn about bullying, friendship, and being kind to others.

Besides being an entertaining story, Sean Loves Sharks also has beautiful, often funny, full-colored illustrations. The illustrations will put giggles into young readers because humor is often incorporated into the pictures. For example, Sean’s cat is dressed as a shark, and the students pretend to be predators. Another positive aspect of the illustrations is that they show diverse characters; Stacy has dark hair and slanted eyes; Sean has brown skin; the students in the classroom are also drawn showing different ethnicities.

Even though Sean Loves Sharks is a picture book, the story is intended to be read aloud to a child, rather than for the child to read it for the first time independently. The engaging story is fun to read aloud. Since there is little text on each page, the story is a quick read making it an excellent bedtime story. Sean Loves Sharks is not only an entertaining story containing ocean creature facts but also has a positive message about being kind to others.

Sexual Content