Haus-hold Picture Book Review: Just One Pebble

One Boy's Quest to End Hunger

We recently had a pretty catastrophic hurricane in our area. We avoided a direct hit and never lost power, but we did have to hunker down for a few days. During the hurricane, we had a pile of picture books to be read.

One of these was JUST ONE PEBBLE, written by Dianna Wilson Sirkovsky and illustrated by Sara Casilda, which Dianna shared with me.

My boys are very fortunate and live in a home where there are three meals a day and plenty of snacks and treats. As a family, we participate in food drives and fundraisers and we give locally. I try to impress upon them the importance of helping those in our community who need it. But do they really "get it"? Do they really see how lucky they truly are?

Books like JUST ONE PEBBLE are a great way to open up conversations with our kids about being a good neighbor, helping those in need, and showing empathy and compassion for those who are less fortunate.

...this book invites children to try to see the world through someone else's eyes and embrace the feelings they encounter, no matter how uncomfortable those feelings might be.

Synopsis

When Braeden Mannering sees a man sleeping on a cold, hard sidewalk, he knows right away that someone needs to step up and help. But he's just kid! What can he do? As rain starts to fall, Braeden decides that he can be that someone. He packs a bag full of snacks and an umbrella, and an idea for something bigger is born.

A true story of one boy's efforts to help those in need, this story explores how Brae's Brown Bags, or 3B, began and the positive impact the organization has had on hunger.

My Big Kid’s Honest Review:

What my Kids Loved: My oldest loved reading about a boy who was able to make a real difference in his community. Rather than brushing Braeden off, the adults around him encourage him and support his idea, helping him turn it into a functioning organization. This was really inspiring for my son, who loves planning lemonade stands and used Pokemon card exchanges. He also enjoyed Casilda's life-like illustrations and the fact that Braeden enjoys video games just like him. The back matter was engaging and he especially loved the note from Braeden.

What I Loved: The book treats homelessness, poverty, and hunger with a gentle compassion that makes the topic accessible for kids without sugar-coating it. Braeden's mom is honest and answers his questions about homelessness and hunger directly. As a parent, I really appreciated the way this was done. Braeden's story inspired my son- after reading the book, he immediately wanted to make our own brown bags to hand out. And with the hurricane approaching, this book really got him thinking about those in our community who may need more support.

As a writer, I appreciated the way these big issues coexisted with Braeden's character arc. Rather than being preachy, this book invites children to try to see the world through someone else's eyes and embrace the feelings they encounter, no matter how uncomfortable those feelings might be.

My favorite lines:

Final thoughts:

Whether you're looking for a way to introduce the issues of homelessness and hunger, hoping to inspire your budding activist, or seeking to encourage your little entrepreneur, this book is a fantastic way to ignite that spark.

You can request Just One Pebble from your local library, or purchase from Clavis. It's also available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other retailers- but don't forget to check your local independent bookstore first!