Daniel is not allowed to play with his friends because he has to go home to dinner. Rather than stopping their play, his friends continue without him. When his parents ask him what's wrong, Daniel admits that he feels left out and sad. They assure him that it's perfectly okay to feel that way and that he will gradually feel better.
While this may seem like a tiny conflict to an adult, feeling sad and left out is a fact of life for many young children, and they do need to learn how to deal with such situations. Rather than shaming children for their natural feelings, this book acknowledges the hurt in an empathetic manner and reminds them that this feeling will not last forever. Because of the simple vocabulary and sentence structure, as well as the very young appearance of the protagonist, this one will likely find a larger audience with pre-schoolers and newer elementary students. I do wish it contained a few more coping strategies than giving it time and receiving hugs from understanding parents, but it's a good start.
Pre-K, EL (K-3) -- ADVISABLE. Reviewer: Caryn
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