NO APPLESPLATTER

Lipke’s debut children’s book teaches young readers about the benefits and pitfalls of different ways of thinking.

Young Leo is walking home from school when an apple falls from a tree. Luckily, his older brother Davis catches the apple right before it lands on Leo’s head. This sparks a discussion between the siblings about fast thinking and slow thinking. People do the fast kind automatically, which is how Davis stopped the falling fruit. But other problems, like searching for something lost, require slow thinking. In a series of brief scenarios, the author, a psychologist, examines situations in which one of these ways of thinking may be preferable. For example, you may focus too much on someone calling you a name, but if you use slow thinking to consider why that bothers you, it may trouble you less. In other instances, slow thinking can lead to fast thinking, as when you learn a new skill with plenty of practice (once you’ve mastered that skill, you can rely on fast thinking). While Lipke clearly distinguishes good things from bad things (like hurtful name-calling), he also ends most chapters with questions for readers to work out on their own. In one example, university student Karen tells her cousins Davis and Leo that self-confidence can become a problem if you think you’re better than others. The chapter’s closing prompt offers something intriguing to ponder: “Do you think there are things almost everyone is confident about?” Most of the stories herein involve the brothers or their relatives and friends, such as their classmates and their quick-to-anger Uncle Floyd. Simple black-and-white illustrations by Streetlight Graphics, including a few children’s drawings, effectively support the text; the highlight depicts a teacher tripping over an “un-put-away octopus stuffy” and conveniently landing on a trampoline.

An enthusiastic introduction to cognition that functions as a self-help guide for kids and adults alike.