Shy Charles

Rating:
Summary: A interesting look at a painfully shy mouse
Review: Charles is not just a little shy, he is EXTREMELY shy, so shy he really doesn't seem to talk at all. As usual, Rosemary Wells is not afraid to have a hero who is quite out of the mainstream. Unlike in most of her books, Charles' parents are not very understanding of him, and seem to be at the point of being quite fed up with his shyness, which can make him seem impolite. However, people in the community seem to understand he's a special little mouse who will come out of his shell when he's ready. An unusual picture book which makes you think about how children who are not outgoing are treated.

Rating:
Summary: A interesting look at a painfully shy mouse
Review: Charles is not just a little shy, he is EXTREMELY shy, so shy he really doesn't seem to talk at all. As usual, Rosemary Wells is not afraid to have a hero who is quite out of the mainstream. Unlike in most of her books, Charles' parents are not very understanding of him, and seem to be at the point of being quite fed up with his shyness, which can make him seem impolite. However, people in the community seem to understand he's a special little mouse who will come out of his shell when he's ready. An unusual picture book which makes you think about how children who are not outgoing are treated.

Rating:
Summary: shy is not so bad
Review: This is a wonderful little book that makes the point that being shy is not such a terrible thing. Charles shows that he can do OK, even if he is shy. An implication is that Charles' parents may have been wrong to try to make Charles over, that maybe they should have recognized his special strengths instead of focusing on his "weak" points, so the book has a message for both children and parents.

I like this book better than "I Don't Know Why... I guess I'm Shy" (see my review there), because it has a more tolerant view of individual differences, doesn't encourage kids to approach adult strangers, and has really great, funny illustrations. (In fact, I'd love to have a print of Charles on his roller skates!)

Rating:
Summary: unfortunate name-calling in this book
Review: We are tried and true Rosemary Wells fans, and are familiar with most of her books. I borrowed this one from the library, and was disappointed to find Charles' parents expressing their frustration through language like "another mother would have spanked you" for not saying thank you or goodbye (maybe Wells could have the mother model good manners rather than threatening punishment)and the father actually calling him names for not participating in football, which Dad forced on him. What a negative approach to modeling the behavior you want your child to adopt, never mind giving parents the idea that it's OK to treat a child in this manner. Needless to say, I edited it heavily when I read it, then returned it to the library post haste! Not one for my library!