Janet Elizabeth Rickert

In my opinion this great children's book. First, I liked that the illustrations in the book were very different. Instead of having drawings there were actual pictures of Russ and his activities that he did that day. For example, there is an actual picture of Russ and his mom eating breakfast in the morning before school. Second, I liked that the plot led to a conflict that Russ and his friend had to find a solution to. On their way to school Russ and his friend find $5 on the ground and decide to keep it. But when lunch time comes around they see a girl crying about how she lost $5 for lunch. They have to make a decision of whether or not to buy ice cream for themselves or to give the girl the $5, not knowing if it is hers or not. They end up giving the money to her and feel good about what they did. The book pushes readers to think about tough issues like whats right and whats wrong. Russ and his friend knew it would be wrong not to give the girl the money, so I think this helps other readers to see the joy you can get from doing something good. The big idea from this story is that helping others out may not always benefit you, but the feeling of helping someone is rewarding enough. Russ also has down syndrome, and I think that this book helps other children to see that even though he has a disability he is just like everyone else.… (mehr)