Seraphina Does Everything! by Melissa Gratias. Illustrated by Sue Cornelison. National Center for Youth Issues. Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). Children’s Fiction, Parenting & Families. Publication date: 09 Apr 2019. 5 Stars.

Gorgeous vibrant colored artwork combine with text to present a valuable message about an overly active child. Great message. Highly recommend!

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing this ebook for review.

RATING- 4.5/5
I read this book to my 10-year-old cousin who has struggled with balancing her activities, bullies, and friends. She really enjoyed it and as did I. The story's theme is very true and is almost empowering. I recommend buying this for any child that is in your life.

Gratias' book is written well with cute illustrations. I can see how it would help many kids who often take on more than they can chew.

Thank you NetGalley and National Center for Youth Issues for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy.

You can read my full review at: https://thehauntedwordsmith.wordpress.com/2019/04/14/book-review-seraphina-does-everything/

Seraphina Does Everything is a wonderful book for today's busy grade school kids (and their parents).  As a parent, I loved every part of this book.  The sing-song tempo in the beginning was fun and the words, colors and especially main character were engaging.

Seraphina is a little girl who wants to do it all but realizes that "doing it all" means that you are missing out somewhere.  The conversation with her dad (instead of mom) is something you don't often find in books and in the end Seraphina is honest about her limitations and finds balance, which is very insightful for a kid that age.

The tips in the back of the book were perfect for adults to help kids find their way when they don't always know how to express it.  I haven't seen any other books like this and I'm very impressed and think it will be perfect for young kids who are already feeling stressed and overwhelmed by the demands on their time.

Thank you to NetGalley and National Center for Youth Issues for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

At a time when privileged kids are over-scheduled and internalizing society’s constant, demanding pressure to excel in all endeavors all the time, Seraphina Does Everything encourages readers to consider the value in down time and unstructured play. An obsession with the fear of missing out competes with a focus on the importance of the quality of experiences rather than the quantity of them. 

Featuring Seraphina’s relationship with her dad offers a refreshing example of normalizing the representation of a man as emotionally engaged with his children. Practical critical thinking and problem solving situations anchor this thoughtful story told mostly in an abcb rhyme scheme. 

Faces and figures rendered with the details of dynamic portraiture command readers’ attention with bold, saturated colors. 

Tips for educators and parents in addition to links to other resources for managing time and expectations are also included.

What a wonderful story. First off, I absolutely love the cover. The little girl has brown colored skin and voluminous curls (just like me), which is something that I wish I saw on the cover of books when I was a kid. This story teaches the importance of realizing that it's okay not to be spectacular at every single thing that you try. Sometimes less is more. This is definitely a great lesson for kids who may be struggling at certain activities when others come naturally.

Seraphina Does Everything is a wonderful book that encourages grade school-aged children to think and talk about balance. Seraphina is involved in many activities which at first feels fun, but eventually starts to really cause her a lot of stress. This was a wonderful book to read with our own elementary aged child and we both found it very relatable. 

Not only does she start to experience not being able to handle it all but she also realizes that putting so much focus into her activities is taking away from other important things. She starts to recognize that she is missing out on important times for family, friends and having her own downtime and is also starting to fall behind on schoolwork. 

She talks to her dad and he is able to give her relatable and approachable advice about how nobody can do everything and especially not well. He introduces the idea of choosing fewer things that she really loves.

She takes this advice and realizes how much more enjoyable life is when she has balance and boundaries and also just time for fun. A big thank you to NetGalley and The National Center for Youth Issues for gifting me a copy of this book.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the colorful illustrations and that the main character was from a diverse background. I loved that the little girl was portrayed as active, smart and kind. It was interesting that the author chose to comment on the negative impact of taking on so many activities and feeling overwhelmed with the expectations of perfection. This storybook ends with a clear message that's OK for kids to do the things they enjoy and either fail or win at them. Lovely story.

Love this book’s important, timely message to today’s kids, and it’s absolutely beautiful illustrations! 

Seraphina enjoys participating in many after school activities. She is afraid of missing out on something great if she doesn’t join each activity. 

Yet, lately she is beginning to notice she doesn’t have time to do relaxing things at home. For example, Seraphina doesn’t have much time to play with her dog, or shoot hoops with her dad, which she enjoys. She would like to have some time to spend with a friend, but she is always too busy to schedule a play date. It seems she is always in the car being driven from one activity to another. Even homework is often rushed and done in the car. 

Seraphina is very much like a very special, active 8-yr. old girl I know and love! Extracurricular activities can be very enriching. At the same time, too much of a good thing, even if it’s a beneficial activity, can be detrimental to a balanced life.

I highly recommend this book for parents and grandparents to share with active kids of all ages. Kids will see themselves in these pages, and together with their parents,  discuss whether overscheduling is present in their lives, similar to Seraphina’s.

I received a digital arc in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the National Center for Youth Issues and Starkey Printing, through NetGalley.