Or, "Can't we all just get along?"
The Way of the Ninja by David Bruins and illustrated by Hilary Leung, Kids Can Press, 2010.
Another pleasing addition to what I hope will be an ongoing Ninja Cowboy Boy character education series. The first book, Ninja Cowboy Boy, was reviewed here at BookMoot in 2009.
Ninja does not want to pick flowers with Bear or paint with Cowboy. They agree to play his games but he will not play along with them. Alone, Ninja realizes it is more fun to share and take turns with his friends.
Leung's Japanese style illustrations are original and sweet. The small trim size of the series is easy for small hands to hold. The way to pronounce the Japanese words/characters on the pages is given along with the translations.
Six Crows
by Leo Lionni. Knopf, 2010
A farmer is tired of six crows who are eating the grain in his field. He builds a scarecrow to keep the crows away but they retaliate by building a kite that looks like a giant bird to scare the farmer. He arms his scarecrow to make it more fearsome and the birds build an even larger kite. Finally, a wise owl acts as a go-between and gets the two sides talking to solve their differences. These are some of Lionni's strongest and most beautiful collages. This is another excellent choice for art teachers who are teaching collage.
There have been many inquiries on the school library listservs for books about bullying this past week. This title would be a good addition to character units on cooperation and getting along.