DASH AND NIKKI AND THE JELLYBEAN GAME

Two siblings play a game and learn to save, share, and join forces in this picture book.

White kids Nikki and Dash are surprised to see a jellybean jar on the breakfast table. A note reads: “Welcome to the Jellybean Game...you will get ten beans to start…but before you eat them, let us teach you how to play. You can eat all of your beans....But if, after an hour, ten beans sit on your plate, you will get five more that hour, and five more the next, until dinnertime....You can keep all your jellybeans...or share them with each other.” When Mom doles out the jellybeans, Nikki quickly eats her portion. Dash covers his with a plate, and his pile grows. Noticing Nikki is jealous, Dash offers her 10 jellybeans if she promises to give him 12 at day’s end. They are delighted how “with each hour…their jellybean stacks grew” and acknowledge that “helping one another is the best way to go.” They celebrate by eating jellybeans, and Mom and Dad praise their teamwork. Featuring a kid-friendly game, Delauney’s engaging tale depicts the importance of creativity and a resourceful solution. The story features a relatable, positive display of sibling camaraderie. Civati’s cheerful, computerized illustrations provide key information, such as the plates’ fluctuating levels of candy. The images include bright details like jellybean-flecked backdrops and Nikki’s tie-dyed shirt. Some phrases and words like jellybeans are in multicolored letters.

An interactive, vivid, and enjoyable tale of sibling collaboration.