脡cole Laity View Elementary teacher-librarian Natalie Clark recommends The Smart Cookie by Jory John and illustrated by Pete Oswald.
I fell in love with Jory John and Pete Oswald鈥檚 and the rest of series years ago, and I have been collecting all the books for my libraries at school and at home ever since. You can imagine my delight when they released their newest book, ! As much as I love all books from the series, I believe this one is my new favourite. The Smart Cookie tells the tale of an adorable cookie, who has some struggles at school, doesn鈥檛 get the best grades, and is last to finish most assignments. Cookie often feels lost, confused, and unable to keep up 鈥� many of us have experienced these feelings at some point in our lives.
One day Cookie鈥檚 teacher assigns a project where students are invited to create anything they want. With this freedom, Cookie begins to explore a variety of options and discovers a new love of poetry. With the support and encouragement of the teacher and friends, Cookie finds a new passion and learns that we are all smart in our own way. With this positive experience at school, Cookie begins to feel confident and brave, willing to raise a hand and try, saying 鈥渟ure, some things still don鈥檛 come as easily for me as they do for others. But now I know that you can be smart in many different ways.” This is such a powerful message delivered in such a sweet package. Supporting a growth mindset and a love of learning, I can鈥檛 recommend this book enough.
Oh, and if you are a fan of this series as much as I am, it might interest you to know that John and Oswald have just announced their latest friend to join the Food Group Team 鈥� a grape! I wonder if he will be sour.
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