Diane Alber

"Sticks" by Diane Alber brilliantly captures the magic of childhood imagination, showing my little ones how simple objects can become extraordinary through creativity. The colorful illustrations immediately captivated my children, who now eagerly collect sticks on our nature walks to recreate the story's heartwarming adventures. As a mom constantly battling screen time, I treasure how this book inspires my kids to see potential in natural, everyday items rather than fancy toys. The gentle show more message about friendship and inclusion resonates perfectly with young hearts, making this a bedtime favorite that prompts meaningful conversations long after we close the cover. show less

This is a book that got passed along to me, and in turn I'll be passing it along to some young readers I know. Why not show a book some love as it comes my way?

A Little SPOT of Kindness is a wickedly smart book to teach kids how and when to be kind to others (which is essentially all the time). If you put a spot on your hand, every time you see it you need to be kind to someone! The book gives many examples - saying nice things, sharing, apologizing - all of those important things we want to show more teach kids. The silliness, the authenticity and overall style of the book really makes this book a hit for me. I really think this is a great way to start teaching kindness to kids (probably around age 3). I highly recommend picking this book up if you want a dash of education with a whole lot of fun!

Four out of five stars. show less

The first thing we encounter is a multi-colored scribbled spot. The reason this spot is scribbled and multicolored is because it represents tangled and confused emotions. I love that the author gave a page where she showed different colored spots and what they represent. The second thing I loved is that not only did the scribble start to separate his spots by color but the author gave several words that were synonyms of the original emotion. For example the word peaceful can also mean, show more “relaxed, tranquil, calm, quiet, mellow and serene”. This is a great way to increase a child’s vocabulary. The author also used examples of where we can find these colors when we draw. For example we might color leaves, grass or vines green. All of these represent things that a lot of people find peaceful. This book teaches children that they have all of these emotions inside them, but sometimes they get mixed up. show less

I think this book is great for any reading level.

This book follows the story of Invisible, a scribble who feels less than and unseen because he doesn't have a colorful scribble like everyone else. Through the help of others and a self journey, he is able to see that he isn't invisible, he is unique and needs different circumstances to be fully seen. This book shows the value of encouragement, feeling seen, acts of kindness, self-esteem, and self-worth.

This book is a great tool for show more social-emotional learning and is perfect for a classroom setting. It would be useful to connect with ourselves and how we feel in different circumstances, as well as how to show others that they belong. show less