Magic Little Words

PreS-Gr 2—Most children know the "magic words" to say, but do they really know what they mean? This poetic tale tackles the question with excellent results. Eleven expressions are presented with a one sentence explanation following each. "Welcome/I open my heart/and home to you." and "I'm sorry/I'm so sad/that I hurt you." are two examples in this magical book. Each explanation uses child-friendly language while opening the door for further discussion. One of the entries is "Rest In Peace/For eyes that have/closed forever." While the explanation is beautiful, it will undoubtedly have children asking additional questions. The quirky, childlike collage illustrations are a wonderful complement to the lyrical language. The amorphous characters, with hair reminiscent of troll dolls, add to the overall charm of the book.