Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #596093 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

Customer Reviews

Do Your Best to Help Others: Answering an Old Question Coming from a Child's Naive Perspective

One of the great things about children is the way they can take words literally . . . and give us a new perspective on life as we stop to think about the words we employ for well-understood adult idiomatic expressions. "Is there really a human race?" might thus be seen as a literal question about all the racing around that children see around them, as perhaps reinforced by television shows like The Amazing Race and other reality show competitions. Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell take that literalness and turn it into motherly wisdom for a child who's concerned about what it means to be in so much competition.

As I looked at the second two-page spread in the book, I had to laugh aloud as I saw the vision of people racing through what looked a lot like Central Park in New York City while mom and child sit on a park bench. I have often wondered why New Yorkers walk so fast . . . and now here is a story that picked up on that.

From there, the child asks mom a series of naive questions about the race:

"Did it start on my birthday?"
"Do I warm up and stretch?"
"If the race is a relay, is Dad on my team?"
"Am I a jockey or am I a horse?"
"Is there pushing and shoving to get to the lead?"
"If the race is unfair; will I succeed?"
"Do some of us lose?"
"What am I winning?"
"And why do I do it, this zillion-yard dash?"

Mom then provides a bit of perspective:

"Sometimes it's better not to go fast. There are beautiful sights to be seen when you're last."
"Shouldn't it be that you just try your best?"
"Shouldn't it be looking back at the end that you judge your own race by the help that you lend?"
"So take what's inside of you and make big, hard choices. And for those who can't speak for themselves, use bold voices."
"And make the world better for the whole human race."

As you can see, the book turns back to the subject of brotherhood without getting stuck tricky philosophical bases. Instead, brotherhood is just presented as the way to go. Very nice!

As charming as the words are, the illustrations are critical to this story and carry it forward much more powerfully than any words alone could do. As usual, Ms. Cornell gives both panoramic images and tiny details that will intrigue the most observant young child. As an example of the detailed humor, the child's backpack has an open package in it. If you look closely and turn the page, you can see that these are "Nutrition Patches . . . No Need to Stop and Eat . . . Eat and Run!" Now, even a sober-sided adult who doesn't like to read to children can appreciate humor like that.

To me, the best aspect of the book is that the story and illustrations open the doors for a nice discussion between parent (or grandparent) and child. Too many children's books try to exclude the reader from having a role as a discussion leader. I would describe this book as being designed to be a discussion starter. And it's a discussion that is good to have . . . getting out of the rat race so you can join the human race.

Slow down, make good choices, help others, and enjoy!

A delightful book - a great play on the idea of a race.
Our son likes the book so much he knows it all. He read it to the rest of pre-school last week!
It plays on the idea of running a race and ends with a heart-warming sentiment about our part as members of the human race.
This is the best children's book we have and we have quite a few.