Lou and her friends love adventure! Building fortresses, rescuing wild animals, being race car drivers, or being a deep sea diver - it's what they do. But when a pirate adventure needs a ship, and their ship is up in a tree, Lou knows she'll have to sit this one out. She's never climbed a tree before and she doesn't think she can. She avoids the ship, she makes excuses, and she comes up with SO MANY REASONS not to try. Lou simply cannot climb that tree.

Her friends, however, finally give her the oomph she needs to try and climb. And as Lou grabs on and starts to climb, she struggles and she pulls herself and... she doesn't make it. But that's okay. As she and her friends run off to play a new game, she knows she'll try to climb that tree again.

The Thing Lou Couldn't Do is a great book to introduce the ideas of grit and resilience. There are things in life that we can't do, but how can we do them unless we try? And guess what? Sometimes, even when we've worked hard, we won't get it the first time. We may need to try again. The Thing Lou Couldn't Do is a great conversation starter for kids!

Lou and her friends have so much fun together, but sometimes Lou is unsure and has to be very brave. They user their imagination to be pirates, explorers and rescuers of wild animals, but when one of Lou's friends suggest they climb a tree Lou's response was simply "Ummm..."

This book teaches children about resilience and perseverance, and with an ending that is unexpected the books message is still LOUD and Clear...Keep on trying and NEVER give up! Such strong, positive messages are important to the emotional development of children and this book does it well.

The illustrations are lovely, with Lou and her friends faces showing a lot of emotion and the use of shadows gives the books a touch of special. The characters come from a range of cultures and this has not been pointed out but merley fitting in natuarlly to the books. The ratio of text to illustration has been done well, with clear and easy to read words.

I highly recommend this book for anyone that enjoys picture books.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Having loved Spires's The Most Wonderful Thing, I knew I had to read this work! Much like Wonderful, Spires cleverly tackles childhood feelings, this time of fear and frustration in The Thing Lou Couldn't Do. With her trusty sidekick by her side, Lou tries everything to avoid tree climbing. As her friends reach new heights in their pirate ship tree and even her sidekick leaves her side to rest on a branch, Lou makes excuses for why she can't climb as she brainstorms ways she can get into the tree without climbing. Though Lou doesn't make it to the top yet, she is no longer scared of trying "Maybe even tomorrow." Whimsical illustrations set on a mostly white background make this another appealing book for children. Perhaps what I like most about The Thing Lou Couldn't Do is that it shows children using their imaginations and never giving up, even if things don't work out quite how or when you planned.

I loved the Most Magnificent Thing, and and I can't wait to add the physical copy of this book to my classroom library. I will be recommending this to my kids and parents. Yay! Thank you to Ashley Spires for creating a new book and knocking it out of the park, as usual.

Ashley Spires has done it again; created a picture book with a character so filled with spunk we can't help but love her. Her playful juxtaposition of sweetness and humour in her text and images, captures the quintessence of childhood.

Lou and the rest of this diverse group of characters are adorable. Like all children across time, Lou and her friends, in their playful role-playing and adventuring, are preparing themselves to take over the world. They can do all kinds of things including running faster than airplanes, building mighty forts and rescuing wild animals.

They are deep sea divers, race car drivers, and maybe even pirates. Yet when Lou's friends decide a tree will be their pirate ship, she hesitates. Lou has never climbed a tree before. She doesn't know how. She isn't sure if she wants to learn.
Poor Lou.

She tries to redirect her friends to play another game, but they are adamant that only the tree will do. She tries to keep herself busy doing other things. She creates all kinds of excuses for why she can't climb the tree.

Meanwhile, her friends remain in the tree. They are having a fabulous time.

How Lou manages to find the courage to overcome her fear, I leave for you to read and find out.

What I can tell you is that Ashley Spires does not let us down.

This ending is both courageous and realistic. Readers of all ages can make connections to our own fears, worries and challenges. Hopefully Lou and Ashley will help us all find our own confidence and hope.

Unfortunately, you will have to wait for May, 2017 to purchase it. Mark your calendars.

Lou and her friends are brave adventurers. But when one of Lou's friend wants to play pirate ship up a tree Lou is not sure it's a good idea. This is something new and different. See Lou has never climbed a tree before. She's scared. Lou tries to talk her friends into any other game or gives excuses why she can't climb the tree. After a while she gives it a try and couldn't do it. Her friends want to play castle next. Lou promises she'll be back to try to climb the tree.

I'm indecisive on how I feel about the book. The illustrations Ashley did deserve 5 stars on their own. Her characters and scenes are enjoyable and entertaining. The lesson of facing your fears is evident but I'm not fond of the execution. Lou's friends want to climb a tree, she doesn't know how. She tries to talk them into playing something else. When they don't go for that Lou tells a bunch of lies about why she can't do it. Then she decides why not and tries to climb the tree. She struggles and falls. Her friends then climb out of the tree and run for the playground and a new game. If her friends were willing to show her how then why didn't Lou ask? Not only that but she tells her friends she can't climb and suggests other games but it isn't until she more or less proves she can't climb do they decide to play a game she can. At least she promised to return and try again and the illustrations show her trying again.

The idea behind the story is good but the ending missed the mark in my opinion. When she fell from her one attempt to climb the tree her friends climb down and go to the playground. I wish they would have helped her. It does portray a bit of independence but she could have asked for help and didn't. Nor did her friends jump down and show her how. They let her give up.

I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley, Kids Can Press and Ashley Spires for this read in exchange for an honest opinion.

Kids Can Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Thing Lou Couldn't Do. This is my honest opinion of the book.

Lou is brave enough for everything, until she faces down the one thing that frightens her. Will Lou be able to get up her courage and try?

Well illustrated with colorful pages and a great story for young children to follow, The Thing that Lou Couldn't Do touches upon the fears that plague many kids. This book is about courage: about outlasting your fears and learning how to try something new. I love how Lou has many excuses and trys everything she can to get out of the situation, as these are common reactions by both children and adults alike. With a little sense of humor and a lot of perseverance, Lou tackles the problem head on. I would highly recommend this as a book for emerging readers, young children, and their parents.

Lou and her friends love having fun, they invent stories, play in the garden and they all love adventures.

One day everyone climb a tree except Lou, and she is aware she isn't able to do this! To avoid trying Lou invents every kind of excuses, but she is lucky because her friends give her courage.

The story is very nice, it teaches to overcome fears: it's not important to succeed instantly, but it's important to keep trying and not give up.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me the copy necessary to write this review.

This is a really nice children's picture book for around ages 3-5. The illustrations are crisp and bright and the characters talk with speech bubbles.

Lou can't climb the tree! It's a book that has the message of overcoming fears and excuses and giving things a go - even if it means you can't do something. At least you tried.

Lou has a very cute sidekick - her little cat, who sadly doesn't get given a name. Her friends feature in the book too. 4 stars. I'll be reading and reviewing more children's books this year.