Rosie Sprout's Time to Shine
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Violet runs the fastest, sings the highest, looks the fanciest, and talks the loudest. Everyone agrees that she's the best.
Except Rosie. Rosie isn't fast, or loud, or fancy, but she's tired of hearing that Violet is the best.
When their class grows pea plants, Rosie's and Violet's are the first to sprout! But Violet's is a little taller. So Rosie pushes some soil over Violet's sprout to slow it down. And for a moment, Rosie's plant is the best—but she feels terrible. And she feels even worse when she learns that Violet has the chicken pox.
So for the next two weeks, Rosie waters her plant—and Violet's too. She turns them in the sun, and sings them quiet growing songs. And her teacher says that Rosie is the best gardener she's ever had. Definitely the best.
This empathetic story captures every child's desire to be noticed and praised, and the subtle competitions that go on in a classroom. It's a book to swell every shy child's heart.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rosie's classmate Violet has what is charitably known as a strong personality. "She was the loudest storyteller at lunchtime. And she looked the fanciest on picture day," writes Wortche, in an accomplished debut. "Violet was definitely the best. And everyone agreed. Except Rosie." Matters come to a head when everyone in class has to grow a pea plant; Rosie approaches the assignment with geeky devotion, while Violet sees it as one more opportunity to hog the spotlight. In the pages that follow, Rosie discovers just how much Violet has gotten under her skin, but she also learns that she's on the radar of someone who really matters. In lesser hands, this could be just another life lesson, but Wortche possesses both a refreshing directness and a willingness to trust her readers. She also has the courage to conclude not with reconciliation, but with a bittersweet and profoundly wise acknowledgment that it takes all kinds. This impressive new author is well served by Barton (Mine!), whose digital classroom sketches convey a tumult of emotion and have just the right amounts of energy and vulnerability. Ages 5 9.
