Wanda is in serious need of an attitude adjustment! She doesn’t want to accompany her family to the Rubber Duck Days Festival, and once there, she won’t participate in any of the events or join in with her friends. Soon Wanda receives some helpful advice and learns that: “Sometimes you have to believe something will be great before it actually is. Being positive is a choice that makes everything better, not to mention, a whole lot more fun!”
Whatever Wanda, is the third title in the Shine Bright Kids series! The Shine Bright Kids series provides children and their families with the tools to teach the importance of making good choices. The series explores such topics as: using good judgment, taking responsibility, having a positive attitude, and demonstrating perseverance.
About the author:
Christy Ziglar, financial planner, mother of twins, and niece of legendary motivator and the world’s original optimist, Zig Ziglar, is bringing the same timeless wisdom and ageless advice to an entirely new, younger audience through her Shine Bright Kids picture book series. Christy, her husband, and their twins live in Atlanta, Georgia.
About the illustrator:
Paige Billin-Frye lives with her husband in Washington, D.C., where she gardens and grows food in her city yard. She has illustrated numerous children’s books and works in a studio over a neighborhood hardware store. Coincidentally, Paige has amassed a collection of rubber duckies of all sizes across the years.
You can find the other titles of the Shine Bright Kids series HERE. They also have parenting resources, games, fun activities, and worksheets to help you and your family shine bright!
At the beginning of Whatever Wanda!, there's a note to the "grownups." It gives great advice on how to teach our children how to stay positive even though sometimes it's hard to do in our culture today. It reminds us to lead our children by example and how we should not become frustrated or negative when we face disappointments, instead we should stay positive and flexible. We should always try to look on the bright side and to teach our children that having a positive attitude can make things better. I know I definitely needed to be reminded of that! I often get frustrated and upset and let my children see that, when instead I need to be showing them how to stay positive. This message really hit home.
I read Whatever Wanda! with my 8 year old son at bedtime. We read it in two nights. The first page has this great saying, "If a frown has found your face, put a smile in its place. Change your mind and start to care - you'll see fun is everywhere!" On the same page, it tells the kids to find the star that follows Wanda. It says to try to notice if the star is excited or sad and to try and guess why it feels that way. My son loved looking for that star! As soon as I'd turn the page, he'd say, "There's the star! It looks sad(or happy)." He said, "It was pretty fun finding the stars!" He also said this book would be good for boys or girls.
I enjoyed reading it with him and really enjoyed the beautiful illustrations. They are very eye-catching and colorful. It is very relevant to today, because Wanda's typical response is "Whatever," and I hear this all day long from my 2nd graders at school; especially when they're talking to each other on the playground. It was neat how even though Wanda was always negative, her friends and family didn't give up on her, they just kept trying to encourage her to participate. In the end, the mascot/grand marshall was able to reach out to Wanda and encourage her to think about her attitude and how it would be much better to join in the fun. That's often how it is in real life - parents and friends can encourage someone to do something, but often it takes another adult to reach them. I would definitely like to read the other books in this series with my son.
I am also running a giveaway for you. You have a chance to win a free copy of Whatever Wanda! to read in your own home. This giveaway is open to the US and Canada. All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below, fill out one option or as many as you want. The giveaway ends at 12:01 a.m. eastern time on 04/05/15.
"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”
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