There are several new picture books that are wonderful choices to read with children and which will encourage thoughtful conversations about life, friendship and perseverance.
Kathryn Otoshi’s newest book, “Draw the Line,” continues with her other books’ themes of friendship, reconciliation, and how to deal with anger. In this wordless book, two boys draw lines and bump into each other. The lines magically become rope and the two boys have fun playing together until one accidentally hurts the other. Then things get ugly, but time and a gesture from one boy start the road to healing the rift and playing again. This is a book that could be used in many ways – by psychologists, by social workers, by parents, and by teachers, to talk to children about anger and how to deal with problems. The illustrations are simply drawn in black and white with just two additional colors: yellow and purple. The colors are used to enhance the emotions of the two boys — yellow for happy and dark purple clouds for anger. It’s a striking and important book for libraries and classrooms. (Roaring Brook Press)
