I’m Sorry!

Scribble and Swoop are the best of friends. They meet every day to do their special crafts. Scribble loves to write plays and Swoop has a special toolbox to build things. They like acting out the plays together. The friends decide they like being together so much they should find a place and live together. It was just the right size for two with a little leftover. When both sit on their big new porch each has a plan to make it a place for their work, but trouble ensues when they do communicate, and both try to use the space at the same time. The curtains for the theater get torn and Swoop’s box gets knocked over scattering all of her tools. Both friends are very angry with each other. Scribble tries to write the perfect words, “I’m Sorry”, to make it better, but he comes to find out that without actions, I’m sorry doesn’t work. Will the two friends be able to act and resolve their problems or be angry forever?

The text is excellent. I really appreciated the flow and thoughtfulness. The number of words on the page seemed exactly right, not too much and not too little. I loved the phrase the author used, “There was room enough for two with a little leftover.” I love this book because kids often do not understand that saying, “I’m sorry” requires action not just saying the words. This book teaches an excellent lesson on both the words and the actions together to make things better.

The illustrations are beautifully done. I love the bright pictures and all of the details in each one. Scribble and Swoop are just adorable. I think their personalities really shine through in the pictures. I love their home in the tree and honestly, I wish I had that porch at my house. It would be a great place to read and write.

The scene when the friends get so mad that Scribble breaks his pencil and cries is a powerful moment. I think this book depicted perfectly how saying sorry and doing something are two very different things. I love that Swoop comes up and gives Scribble a hug knowing how much she has hurt him. Then the friends work out a solution that makes everyone be able to use the porch, not causing a mess or fight. I also love that the friends helped repair the things they had damage as well as repairing the damaged relationship.

My three-year-old daughter said this about the book, “I didn’t like the animals getting angry, I liked they were happy. I didn’t like it when they were angry.” My six-year-old son said, “I didn’t like that the animals got angry. I liked that they were happy in the end.” It opened the conversation that sometimes we are angry, but that’s when we take action and solve the problem.

I would recommend this book for four to eight-year-olds. My three-year-old liked it, but it might be a tad long for three-year-old’s who are not used to reading long books.