My Manners. (Our Values). Grace Jones. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (List RLB), $18.36 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3309-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3260-0 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1891-2 (html). Subject Headings: Courtesy-Juvenile literature. Etiquette for children and teenagers-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	Making Good Choices. (Our Values). Steffi Cavell-Clarke. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (List RLB), $18.36 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3328-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3262-4 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1893-6 (html). Subject Heading: Decision making-Moral and ethical aspects-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	My Feelings. (Our Values). Grace Jones. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (List RLB), $18.36 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3289-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3246-4 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1889-9 (html). Subject Heading: Emotions-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	My Family. (Our Values). Grace Jones. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (List RLB), $18.36 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3288-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3245-7 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1888-2 (html). Subject Heading: Families-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	Celebrating Different Beliefs. (Our Values). Steffi Cavell-Clarke. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (List RLB), $18.36 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3310-2 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3261-7 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1892-9 (html). Subject Headings: Religions-Juvenile literature. Freedom of religion-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	Sharing Our Global Community. (Our Values). Steffi Cavell-Clarke. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (List RLB), $18.36 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3330-0 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3264-8 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1895-0 (html). Subject Headings: Communities-Juvenile literature. Community life-Juvenile literature. Social participation-Juvenile literature. Political participation-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	Respecting Others. (Our Values). Steffi Cavell-Clarke. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (List RLB), $18.36 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3329-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3263-1 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1894-3 (html). Subject Headings: Respect-Juvenile literature. Respect for persons-Juvenile literature. Self-esteem-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	My Friends. (Our Values). Grace Jones. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc. & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (List RLB), $18.36 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-3308-9 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-3247-1 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1890-5 (html). Subject Heading: Friendship-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4

excerpt:

A community is a group of people who live, work, and play in a place. Often, people in a community share similar attitudes and values. A person can be part of many different communities. Your school, neighborhood, and home are all part of your community. (From Sharing Our Global Community.)

Teaching children how to get along with each other and in society at large is an important part of children’s first years in the educational system. Support materials for units on social behaviours are useful for teachers as they work to build children’s confidence and understanding – keys to success at school and in all the communities they inhabit over the years.

      This group of books for young children, part of the larger “Our Values” series, can serve that purpose. The colourful, hardcover books have close-up pictures of young children modeling the topic – for example, a child with her hand on her chin is trying to make a decision in Making Good Choices while four children with different ethnic origins walk with arms around each other in My Friends. The 24-page books, which consist of two-page chapters on each subtopic (such as “What is a Family?”, “Parents, Brothers and Sisters”, “Grandparents” in My Family) also show people not getting along, but the text suggests how conflict can be overcome.

      Young readers will be able to read the age-appropriate large type text independently. Because the photographs show Canadians of all different races, children will be comfortable applying the values discussed to their own lives. The books contain a glossary on the final page to explain bolded words found in the text. The words seem to be randomly chosen and would better be defined within the body of the pages on which they are found. A short index is found below the glossary.

      This series can be a useful purchase for a school library or classroom collection.

Recommended.

Harriet Zaidman is a teacher-librarian in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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