Just the Right Size

Are you looking for brand new children's books about big and small?  Bonnie Grubman's Just The Right Size is the perfect 2018 animal picture book.  With characters that you just want to cuddle right off of the pages, learn Goldilocks-style what is big enough, small enough, and just right.

Illustrated with beautiful pastel watercolors and colored-pencils, Diederen captures the playfulness of this brand new concept book. Beginning with a ladybug that is just small enough to land on a tree branch, young readers learn that while a giraffe cannot accomplish a similar feat, a giraffe can naturally reach the treetops. Kittens sleep in flowerbeds as elephants cover their young from the rain. Mice can hide anywhere while giant moose are the perfect size to romp in the snow. Dolphins may not be able to gently glide through the seaweed like a goldfish, but such large mammals can take you for a swim. In the end, no matter how big or small you are, everyone is always the right size for a hug. Cue the audible, “Awwwwww.”

Written for pre-k to second grade, Just The Right Size teaches children about size, specifically opposites of big versus small. Readers also learn more about animals and their natural habitats, capabilities, and lifestyles. With adorable illustrations and well-spaced text, this is the perfect beginner reader picture book. Notable is the repetitive concepts and bold letters for ‘big enough’ and ‘small enough.’

My one qualm with this story is the opposing concept, “A beaver is not; A mother elephant is not; etc.,” meaning they are not the right size. The English major in me prefers a complete sentence.  The text should read: The beaver is not small enough.  A mother elephant is not small enough. Ending a fragment and incomplete thought with a period makes this uncorked writer cringe. Please, please, please, lets not teach poor grammar to children from the start.

I can, however, let this small fault slide into the abyss of sheer cuteness. I could look at those elephants and the hedgehog all day.  I appreciate the multicultural family at the end, too.  

I would like to thank NetGalley and Clavis for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a cute book with sweet illustrations. A great book to read to young children about size. There are comparisons of large and small showing that everyone/everything can do different things because of their size. Not everyone can do the same thing in life, but that is okay. Just the Right Size reminds us that everyone is different, and it's alright! When I read this to my grandson, we talked about things he could do that I couldn't and things I can do that he can't. He understands that he will grow up and be able to do the same things as daddy and mommy and when he gets older, like grandmama. He liked the pictures and talked about them as we read this story. A nice book for classrooms, especially kindergarten, family libraries and public libraries. The publisher, Clavis Publishing, generously provided me with a copy of this book to read.

Charming and completely adorable! The writing flows from page to page and the illustrations are beautiful! I love it! :) Highly recommend!!

Such an cute book and great for young kids who are learning about big and little. The illustrations are adorable! If you are looking for a quick, sweet bedtime story for your toddler this would be perfect!
#JustTheRightSize #NetGalley

This is such a sweet book for young emerging readers. The sight words are in bold, allowing children to easily see them on the page.  The writing is repetitive in nature, which enables children to recognize the pattern and predict what might happen next. The book has a sweet moral and positive message that all young readers will appreciate.

Absolutely sweet! Gently and well-illustrated, this picture book about being “just the right size” is filled with example of the same. A ladybug is small enough to perch on the highest leaf of a tree—a giraffe is not (but it can reach the high leaves). A big mama elephant can keep her small calf dry in the rain. An ant is small enough to walk along a blade of grass—a beaver is not. But a beaver is big enough to waddle across a log—and so forth. This is sure to become a “read it to me again” favorite. Five stars.