The Thing Lou Couldn't Do

by Ashley Spires, Ashley Spires (Illustrator)

Overview

”Lou and her friends are BRAVE adventurers. They run FASTER than airplanes. They build MIGHTY fortresses. They rescue WILD animals.“ But one day, when they’re looking for a ship to play pirates in, Lou’s friend has an idea: ”Up there! The tree can be our ship!“ ”Ummm …“ says Lou. This is something new. Lou has never climbed a tree before, and she’s sure she can’t do it. So she tries to convince her friends to play a not-up-a-tree game. When that doesn’t work, she comes up with reasons for not joining them — her arm is sore, her cat needs a walk, you shouldn’t climb so soon after eating. Finally, she tells herself she doesn’t want to climb the tree. But is that true, or is this brave adventurer just too afraid to try?

This delightful picture book from Ashley Spires, bestselling author of The Most Magnificent Thing, perfectly depicts what children go through when confronted with something difficult. With humor and endearing artwork, Spires sensitively portrays Lou procrastinating, making excuses, imagining alternatives and denying she cares. Ultimately, Lou faces her fear, and although she fails, the effort empowers her, encouraging a growth mindset. All the while, Lou’s friends model compassionate friendship by offering to teach her how to climb and then moving the game. This book makes a perfect choice for a character education discussion about courage or resilience, or a life-skills lesson on facing challenges. The story also promotes the joy of imaginative play in the outdoors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781525315619
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	05/05/2026
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Ashley Spires is the author and illustrator of many books, including the bestselling The Most Magnificent Thing, The Thing Lou Couldn't Do and the Binky the Space Cat series. She is a drinker of tea, eater of candy and lover of animals. When she is not making books, she enjoys yoga, jogging and fostering orphan kittens for her local shelter. Ashley lives just outside Vancouver, British Columbia, with her dog and far too many felines.

Editorial Reviews

... Lou's dilemmas, feelings, and experiences should ring true for many kiddos taking on new challenges.—Booklist Online (Praise for The Thing Lou Couldn't Do, hardcover)

Spires's bright, expressive illustrations and playful text put the reader right into Lou's cute little black running shoes ...—Quill & Quire

... offers a valuable lesson ...—Kirkus Reviews (Praise for The Thing Lou Couldn't Do, hardcover)

... humorous and light-hearted ...—School Library Connection

This book has so much to offer.—Canadian Children's Book News

From the Publisher

2017-02-14
Try, try, and try again, even if you don't succeed. Lou, a girl with brown skin, and her diverse band of friends—a redheaded white boy, two brown girls, and a loyal cat companion—enjoy brave adventures. Together, they outrun airplanes, build mighty fortresses, and rescue wild animals. When her friends suggest they play pirates and use the tree as their pirate ship, they, without hesitation, climb up and aboard. All but Lou. Her friends encourage and reassure her. "It will be an adventure," which Lou loves, but her fear and lack of experience are real and get in the way. Attempting to avoid climbing that tree, she gives myriad reasons: her arm is sore, the cat needs a walk, she stepped on a slug and his funeral is in five minutes, she found out she is part fish and needs to be in water to survive, and so on. She finally admits to her friends that she cannot climb a tree. Lou inventively imagines alternate ways of joining her mateys in the branches: a trampoline, a pole vault, or a helicopter. Then a cry for help encourages Lou to put on her eye patch and climb aboard. Up, up, up. To readers' amusement, she makes it nowhere and falls a short distance to the ground. No matter: her friends find a different game all can play. To accompany her third-person narration and dialogue, Spires, known for the Binky graphic novels, uses clean, simple illustrations to envision various amusing scenarios. Unfortunately, Lou's excuses are more interesting than the story, which ends on a flat, moral note. While it offers a valuable lesson, it's not a terribly eventful or memorable book. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews