I Can Help - Hardcover

Faruqi, Reem

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802855040 ISBN 13: 9780802855046

Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2021

Synopsis

Amazon Editors’ Picks: Best Books Ages 6-8 (2021)

When Ms. Underwood asks if anyone wants to help Kyle, Zahra always volunteers. She loves spending time with Kyle—he’s creative and generous, and he makes the funniest jokes at lunch. But when Zahra’s other classmates start teasing her for helping him, she starts making choices she regrets. 

I Can Help is a gentle, sensitive portrayal of reaching out, facing peer pressure, and learning from past mistakes. With thoughtful storytelling and poignant illustrations, this book will open discussions about choosing kindness in the classroom and beyond.

Arkansas State Library Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award Nominee (2023-2024)

South Dakota Library Association Prairie Bud Award PreK-1st Nominee (2023-2024)

About this title

About the Authors

Reem Faruqi based I Can Help on a similar experience from her childhood. She is also the author of Lailah's Lunchbox (Tilbury) and the upcoming Amira's Picture Day (Holiday House) and Unsettled (HarperCollins). Lailah's Lunchbox, her debut, was named an ALA Notable Book and received many other honors. Reem lives in Georgia. Visit her website at reemfaruqi.com or follow her on Twitter @ReemFaruqi.


Mikela Prevost is the author and illustrator of Let's Have a Dog Party! (Viking/Penguin). She has an MFA in illustration from California State University, Fullerton, and her art has been recognized by SCBWI and the Society of Illustrators. Her illustrations for I Can Help were inspired by her time as a classroom teacher. Mikela lives in Arizona. Visit her website at mikelaprevost.com or follow her on Instagram @mikelaprevost.

Reviews

K-Gr 3-Earnest Zahra, an energetic girl with brown skin and black hair, is always happy to help a boy in her class until the day she is teased for spending time with a weird-looking "baby." Kylem, who has pale skin, is generous, great at drawing, and good at telling jokes, but he has trouble with reading, writing, and cutting. Zahra works so well with him that their teacher calls her a "super helper." But when two girls question why she volunteers to do so, Zahra closes Kyle out while hating the sound of her own mean voice. She doesn't know how to act on her remorse until the next year when she is at a big new school without Kyle. The minute an anxious new girl arrives, Zahra wastes no time in offering to help. Children will immediately recognize the dynamics at play in this diverse classroom. Zahra's emotions are vividly depicted through action, from riding high on the swings, to sharing a joke with Kyle, to blinking the right amount of blinks so she doesn't cry. Mixed media illustrations, with the feel of those by G. Brian Karas, are a wonderful match and amplify the feelings in the text through body language and facial expressions. VERDICT Lessons about kindness, regret, and making amends are all here without being the least bit didactic. An excellent conversation starter for any adults who work with groups of children.-Jan Aldrich Solow, formerly Fairfax County Public Sch., VAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802855040
• ISBN 13: 9780802855046
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Prevost Mikela
• Number of pages: 44