I Forgive Alex: A Simple Story about Understanding
Dressed in a jersey, Alex (white) is playing a game of keep-the-basketball-away-from-his-teammates in the wet schoolyard one day. Nearby, a white boy arranges several of his drawings on a bench for classmates to admire. When Alex carelessly tosses the ball over several kids’ heads, it lands on the drawings, knocking them off the bench and into a puddle, where they are ruined. Classmates rush to the artist to offer sympathy and shoot angry glares at Alex, who had already been annoying them with his game. Inside, a clearly remorseful and embarrassed Alex is shunned by his classmates, while the artist pulls himself together after a brief cry. After school, the artist approaches Alex; they talk and shake hands, and the other classmates follow the artist’s lead in forgiving him. An additional peace offering—a drawing Alex makes of himself and the artist playing basketball together—makes things even better the next morning. Appealing ink-and-watercolor illustrations of children with round, oversized heads clearly depict both the plot and, as importantly, the emotions in this wordless book. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Kerascoet
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 4-8
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Arguments/Conflict
Behavior
Forgiveness
School
Publishers:
Random House, Random House Studio
Publish Year: 2022
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9780593381502
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Kerascoet