PATIENCE

Young animals learn life lessons in patience.

A young crocodile learns to wait while his sister plays with a toy airplane; a little bunny learns self-control on a long train ride; and a bear cub is hangry for dinner. Resolving the minidramas in six lines of text, caring parents help the children deal with their restlessness with Mr. Rogers–esque techniques, such as empathy, redirection, positive distraction, time management, and positive reinforcement. On the verso of each double-page spread, a child expresses their dissatisfaction solely through dialogue. On the recto, the grown-up suggests a coping strategy and, underneath, an image appears of the pair in the throes of the emotion. This illustration is split down the middle, and a panel slides out via pull-tab to reveal the resolution, with the denouement described below. While the tabs are sturdy, they are a bit stiff, and caregivers sharing this offering with their youngsters may need to assist with the reveal. The final spread appears to be a preschool or a day care, and little critters are being picked up by their corresponding grown-ups after their teacher praises them for their patience. The graphically close to simple art presents simplified scenes with boldly colored, big-eyed characters set against muted backgrounds. The pairs presented here represent solely parental relationships; there is no depiction of other types of family configurations. While some of these situations seem a bit too perfect, the lessons here are direct, and the playful pull-tabs will make them easy to digest.

This French import is both compassionate and useful.