PPBF: ABBS - Ability, Brave, Beautiful, Smart

Today I'm excited to debut my first 2024 PPBF pick.

It perfectly pairs with this message that I caught at Culvers last week.

Introducing ABBS.

Title: ABBS: Ability, Brave, Beautiful, Smart

Author: Melisa Hayes

Illustrator: Sara Wadford

Publisher: X-Factor Publishing

Birth Date: August 2023

Suitable for ages: 4-8

Themes: mindset, acceptance, compassion

Brief synopsis: Abbs is a beautiful rainbow, but will her friends understand and accept her as she is, square rather than a rounded arc?

Opening page: Hi, I'm Abbs. I'm a rainbow.

Resources:

Watch a Book Chat with Melody {here}.

Tune in to a Rethink Learning episode with the author {here}.

Check out this television spot!

Compare/contrast with Hannah's Down Syndrome Superpowers.

Why I like this book: I really don't have enough words to adequately describe how much my third-graders and I loved this interactive and engaging story. Children will connect as Abbs, an able, brave, beautiful and smart young rainbow, struggling to navigate the rocky waters of expectation in the friendship pool. Instead of seeing what's right, the friends with a fixed mindset that rainbows need to be round arcs only see what they deem as wrong. They even go so far as to tell her that she's not a real rainbow. Yikes! Sigh.

I set the scene with my rainbow puppet, who was born without all of the colors; my compassionate learners immediately told Rainbow that it didn't matter, that she was beautiful just the way she is.

They immediately understood and wanted to help.

One friend even gave her a Be 😀 You rainbow bracelet.

Then we read the story and they made SO many text-to-self connections.

Do yourself a favor and check out this incredible newcomer, then head on over to Susanna Hill's post and see what the other bloggers have picked.

And now, just for fun, here's a sneak peek at the artwork for my next book.

I am hopeful for a 2024 release for this tribute book to my brother.

Oh, and if you're in the Houston area, why not come to our ECE Winter Conference next week; you might even get to meet Eric Litwin, the phenom behind the Pete The Cat books.