loved this book! I had never heard of a "buddy bench" and this was a very sweet introduction.
I loved the illustrations but found the rhyming text to be a little clumsy, . . regardless, this is a wonderful opportunity to continue the conversation about how to prevent alienation, loneliness, bullying, and promote inclusion with our children.
This Tilbury House Treasure is my, to be released in August, favorite book of the year so far.
The Buddy Bench by Patty Brozo and illus, by Mike Deas is a gem, Written in a beautiful lyrical voice, with perfectly complimenting illustrations, this pairing have shared a story of inclusion.
There are children left out, who just want to be heard, but are too shy or different or scared to ask.
They all come together, their differences aside, to do a citizen project that benefits all, Kid tested and approved, todays library group of kids asked about making their own buddy benches at their school! A picture book to be read aloud again and again and will be one I purchase for my own personal book collection! Charming, rhymey story about kids who feel left out for various reasons too small, wrong clothes, shy, new in town, too proud to ask others to play and how a buddy bench can
help make recess more fun.
I especially liked the fact that the kid who has a stutter not only had a problem joining in but also helps to figure out and create a solution to that problem.
And it amused me to see little kids playing at soldiers by wearing pots and a colander on their heads.
This book is from Tilbury House Publishers in Maine, I feel this story is a good reminder to adults that children sometimes need help from someone their own age.
The buddy bench is a great idea for all schools to implement, It is a place where new students and old can go to if they need someone to talk to or play with.
Cute colourful illustrations show examples of how kids can work together, I'd actually never heard of a "buddy bench" before reading this book, It's a neat concept. Basically, the playground has a bench where kids can go and sit if they need someone to play with if other kids see someone sitting there, they should ask them to play.
The rhyming story is engaging although the meter is a bit clunky in places, The colourful illustrations show a wide variety of children at play, There's a note at the back about the origin of buddy benches, too,
Even if a child's school doesn't have a buddy bench, this book might make them think about classmates who are sitting on the sidelines.
And maybe this will inspire some kids to push for buddy benches in their own schoolyards!
Quotable moment:
Every school should have a buddy bench! This is such a sweet book about inclusion.
Everyone wants to have someone to be friends with and play with at recess, I love the idea of buddy benches, I had never heard of them prior to this book, Such a cool idea! Cute and rhymey, theres no egregious bullying here, Just a variety of kids who have a hard time joining in, They work together to find a solution,
A lot of named children, my threeyearold wanted to know which one was which, and I had a hard time keeping everyone straight.
Like that it shows various reasons people aren't participating and that it doesn't show bullying the kids aren't included just because the other kids are playing with their same group as always.
So, the kids may be insular/cliquish, but not mean, I really enjoyed the themes of this bookI've heard of buddy benches, so it was fun seeing a modern picture book highlight the topic.
However the rhyming structure of the text kinda slowed down the story for me and made it drag a bit.
Cute, imaginative illustrations, though! This is a rhyming, upbeat story with a classic sensibility, It introduces a simple way that kids and school administrators can help ensure nobody gets left out on the playground.
More schools are using benches in schoolyards to help boys and girls relate to each other, i.
e. "if you need a friend, sit here, " These are two stories about how they might be used,
Optional purchase for PreSchoolgrade, I loved the message and theme of this book and wish I had it when I was teaching.
This book is about recess in elementary school and finding someone to play with, It shows children on the playground that are alonegiving reasons for not joining the others and being included.
The class problem solves a way to find and include children with their special bench, Such a great idea for schools and teachers to embrace, A little uncomfortable with the use of the speech impediment, The Buddy Bench is not just a picture book, but also a movement in schools, The book follows children on the playground who are left out for different reasons: broken leg, stuttering, and new in class.
When one child asks a loner why they're alone and asks them to play, the loner finds and invites another loaner to play until all the children have found a group to play with.
After recess, they ask their teacher for a way without talking to let other kids know if one of them needs a group to play with.
Thus the Buddy Bench is born as a place to sit so others will know you want to be invited to play with them.
It's all very sweet and wellintentioned, but as an elementary school loner myself, I felt that the book did nothing to address the underlying reason why each loner had no one to play with in the first place.
These are the kids with disabilities, stutters and accents, not average bodies, and other things that make kids outcasts and targets for bullying.
There was no bench in the world that would have gotten my classmates to include me in play unless the issue of diversity and acceptance was taught and enforced.
I've been assured by current parents of schoolaged children that this type of compassion education is happening in schools.
But just a reminder from the grownup who used to not belong: when reading this book with kiddos, take the opportunity to talk about the kids' differences and why there's no reason they can't show kindness and acceptance.
Has there ever been a time where you have felt left out or forgotten in group activities, such as recess This book focuses on that issue.
For a variety of reasons, some of the kids at this school feel left out when it comes to recess.
They watch as their classmates play with kites or throw a ball, having fun without them, The students who are watching just want to be included and make friends, The solution is the buddy bench,
This story is a wonderful introduction to inclusion of all people and making friends,
Laura D. / Marathon County Public Library We just received four Buddy Benches at my school, I had to have this book to read to the kids, .