Big sister teases Roosevelt and looks too big to ignore, but a little bit of support from his friend shows her teasing is not so big at all. ( )

Excellent!! To teach the importance of building self esteem with a true friend. This book can be used in the classroom to deter bullies. ( )

I would read this book to kids to ask them the difference between affirmations and insults. This is also a good book to ask kids about what implied impossibilities they hear from people. ( )

This is a quirky book written by Raschka to show the importance of friendship. Roosevelt isn’t the most graceful hippo, and his sister will be the first to tell you that. Unfortunately every time Roosevelt’s sister points out one of his imperfections (in front of his friend), he blushes. This blushing embarrasses Roosevelt almost as much as being clumsy. Thankfully his friend, Lombard, helps build Roosevelt’s self esteem back up. Every time the sister puts him down, Lombard tells Roosevelt something nice to counteract. In the end, the sister’s insults are no longer bothering Roosevelt. This book shows how important friends are. Everyone should have a friend like Lombard who, instead of laughing along with Roosevelt’s sister, will make Roosevelt feel better. Raschka’s simple illustrations go along with the text wonderfully and add another layer to this story. This could be a good teaching tool to use in order to deter bullies from surfacing in a classroom.

Details: This book was written to interest children in grades K-3 and is on a 1.7 reading level. ( )

This is a story about an older hippo sister making fun of her younger brother. She says he blushes all the time and this makes him insecure. He asks his best friend if he is blushful and his friend tells him all the good qualities about him, and makes him feel better. ( )