Bella always wants to win. If Bella loses she gets really upset. When Bella realizes she won't win a tent making competition at summer camp, she decides she would rather give up than lose. But, with a little help and guidance, Bella realizes that trying your best is better than being a sore loser and she learns to have fun along the way.

I Want to Win! is a typical social story that helps illustrate a key social skill for young kids.

3.5★
Nicely illustrated, inclusive book to help kids learn how to enjoy participating, whether or not they win.

The story is reasonably straight-forward, and the half-dozen kids and two teachers cover a few demographics (colour, ethnicity, ability). One little fellow is in a wheelchair, which isn't featured or even alluded to. He's just part of the summer Fun Club.

[My Goodreads review includes a picture captioned: The Fun Club - Bella is painting by herself".]

Bella is a pretty typical kid who hasn’t yet learned how to participate without worrying too much about who’s ahead.

The story isn’t just about winning or losing, it’s about trying, enjoying the game, and being happy when other people do well.

There is a competition to build a tent and win a prize.

"But Bella said it was too hard to make a tent. Bella stopped trying. she got mad and GAVE UP."

Nell, one of the club leaders, talks to her privately about how she herself had to keep trying before she finally learned to ride a bike.

Needless to say, Bella gets the message and it has a happy ending.

There are activities at the end of the book for group discussion and advice to read before introducing the book to a class.

Thanks to NetGalley and Free Spirit Publishing for the review copy from which I’ve quoted and copied the picture.

Summary:
A little girl named Bella goes to Fun Camp during summer vacation. Bella loves to win and loves to be the BEST at most everything. She soon realized that at Fun Camp, things aren't exactly going the way she wants them to. She isn't winning every game and she's having trouble being a good sport. The two camp leaders surprised the kids with a challenge in which they had to build a tent. Bella got frustrated quickly and gave up. Nell, one of the camp leaders, then told Bella a story of how she didn't give up when trying to learn to ride a bike as a child. That story inspires Bella to try to build the tent again. Not only was she able to build the tent, but she received an award for being the person who tried the hardest. She learned that being a good sport was nicer than getting mad.

Potential age group:
Grades pre-k through second grade (ages 3-8).

Genre:
Fiction

Topic:
Trying hard and being a good sport when things don't go your way.

Curricular uses:
'I Want to Win' is a story that could be incorporated into a character education program. It also lends itself to being used for a lesson on cause/effect or sequence of events. At the end of the book, there is a picture story activity where students use the pictures provided to tell what is happening in the form of a story.

Interactions of text and images:
The illustrations in this book were colorful and supplemented the text. Students can easily tell what is going on in the story by just looking at the pictures.

My take on this book:
In my opinion, this book sends a good message to children about being a good sport, even when things go your way. The story did not have humor in it, which usually grips the attention of older children in elementary. For younger primary students, this book would teach a character education lesson nicely. The illustrations were colorful and clear, but lacked polish, along with the cover.

This is a book from the "Our Emotions and Behavior" series. It has messages to parents, teachers etc. on how to use this book. There are also discussion questions and activities that can be used with children before, while and after reading this book.

Bella is at summer day camp and wants to win whatever she does. When she has a hard time building a tent, she wants to just quit, because she won't win and it is too hard. When her counselor, Nell, tells her about an experience she had when she was little demonstrating that she should not give up, Bella tries again. She finally gets her tent up after several tries and it is not very well done but she feels happy that she did not get up. When her friend Matt wins for the best tent, she even congratulates him and is not upset about not winning. This is a simple story that young children should have no problem understanding. My concern is that while the story starts out talking about being a good sport, it turns into a lesson about perseverance and not giving up. I would have liked to see more about sportsmanship. This book could be used in a primary classroom along with discussion about options when we come upon a sore loser to help them develop sportsmanship as well as what to do when we are not being a good sport.

A good book to promote sportsmanship. I absolutely loved it.

Bella is competitive to the point of frustration. Until one day her peers teach her that being a good sport and trying your hardest makes you a winner too. Appropriate text for the age range, complimentary illustrations with diverse characters.

I want to Win! is a solid addition to any social curriculum. Bella always wanted to the best and win, but didn't know how to be happy for anyone else when they earned success. The short story reviews how after learning and showing the correct social etiquette, Bella was able to try it herself and find pride and happiness for her peers after a victory. A helpful addition is a short picture story where students can look at the pictures and tell the story themselves, allowing students to process the situation and respond with the correct way to act. As social curriculum rises to the forefront of many elementary curriculums, this would be a perfect addition to your library collection.