"A beautiful and lyrical story about the power of sorry"
One day a big, scary, hairy monster appears in playground, splitting up two best friends and ruining everybody’s fun. Bad words are said, others are shouted, and the monsters grows and grows. The monster is called Argument. As the monster’s presence infects everyone else, the bad atmosphere increases and the monster continues to grow to gigantic proportions. There’s only one thing that will stop, just one little word. But who will say it first?
Told with a gentle, lyrical verse, this is a charming picture book about friendship, resilience and saying sorry. The message of knowing when to apologise is strong, but handled in a fun and non-didactic way.
The colours and style of the illustrations perfectly suit the gentle text, whilst hilariously bringing the children’s grumpiness and anger to life. I particularly enjoyed the little girl’s furiously angled eyebrows!
This is a lovely book to share and use to start conversations about navigating early friendships.
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Waterstones Children's Laureate, Joseph Coelho, tells the story of a hairy monster that rips two best friends apart. And there’s only one little word that can make it go away!
This big hairy monster slowly balloons in size, ruining everyone’s fun. But this isn’t any old monster. This is a hairy argument that just won’t go away. They try calling it names, yelling at it, and even ignoring it. Nothing works.
"The argument came from nowhere. It sat huge and bloated in the middle of the playground between me and my best friend."
Until… the best friends say that one little word that makes everything better. They learn how to shrink the monster until it vanishes completely. And soon, they can't even remember what it looks like! We all know how an argument can balloon into something we never expected. What starts as a simple tiff has the power to really hurt our feelings.
This book describes those intense feelings perfectly and provides a comforting solution in the form of an apology, which serves to cool down and reunite the friends. The perfect metaphor for difficult discussions that can get in the way of daily life, and a gentle way to introduce your child to the concept of compromise. Coelho's gentle and lyrical verse pairs perfectly with Allison Colpoys' classic illustrations to create a book which will be treasured by young readers.
This is an ode to the power of an apology, and to treasuring a special bond that runs deeper than even the friends realized.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed One Little Word and determined it is suitable for children aged 0-6 years old
One Little Word features in the following genres: Featured Books for 5+ readers, Recommendations, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Star Books, Stories about Family and Friends, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Featured Books for 3+ readers, PSHE: Self-Awareness, Self-Esteem and Wellbeing, Books for Babies and Toddlers
One Little Word is available in Paperback, Hardback
One Little Word was written by Joseph Coelho and published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books an imprint of Quarto Publishing PLC
One Little Word has 32 pages
£7.19
