I Forgive Alex: A Simple Story About Understanding

by KERASCOET, Sebastien Cosset, Marie Pommepuy

Overview

A simple, yet powerful, picture book—from New York Times bestselling creators, Kerascoët—about compassion and forgiveness.

Alex’s enthusiasm and energy can sometimes be a challenge for his classmates. He loves to play ball on the playground with his friends, but when his rambunctious behavior inadvertently upsets one of the other students, he finds himself at odds with the whole class.

A perfect companion to the picture book I Walk with Vanessa, which Parents magazine named the Best Book of the Year about kindness, this story explores the difficult feelings that come with apologies and forgiveness. In a story that sees the perspective of both sides, Alex learns quickly that the right thing to do is say he’s sorry, leaving it up to his friend to find the compassion and empathy to accept it.

This wordless picture book is a good reminder that it’s important to take responsibility for a mistake but that it’s equally important to be ready to forgive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593381502
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	07/12/2022
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kerascoët, a husband-and-wife team, are the illustrators of the picture book I Walk with Vanessa which received three starred reviews and was named The Best Picture Book of 2018 that Champions Kindness by Parents Magazine. They are also the illustrators of Malala's Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai which was highly acclaimed and a New York Times bestseller.

Editorial Reviews

2022-03-30
Another wordless tale of compassion from the husband-and-wife creators of I Walk With Vanessa (2018).

Rowdy young Alex bounds across the crowded schoolyard with a basketball, swiping and swishing it away from others. Another group of students nearby are carefully studying a youngster’s art pages. The two groups collide when a sudden, overzealous throw by Alex accidentally knocks the pages into a puddle. The children go indoors, but everyone remembers the incident. The young artist is feeling down, and classmates are seen glaring and scowling at Alex throughout the day. Resolution takes emotional work from both sides: One must be brave to apologize; the other must be open to forgiveness. The two tots work it out, with a surprise, heartfelt reparation sealing the deal. The watercolor-and-ink artwork makes effective use of white space, alternating full pages with vignettes. The wordless format lends itself expertly to introspection. As readers look closely at the characters’ expressions to parse out the plot, they’ll feel the emotions right along with them, though this outing takes a bit more examination than the duo’s previous work. The two main characters are both White, while the surrounding class is diverse. Notes on conflict resolution are appended, directed both to children and adults. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A unique perspective that highlights both sides of a disagreement. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

★ "A wonderful lesson in forgiveness and inclusion" —School Library Journal, starred review

From the Publisher