By Sue Graves, Illustrations by Desideria Guicciardini
Review by Debra L Scott
But Why Can’t I? is one of a new four-book series from Free Spirit Publishing called “Our Emotions and Behaviors”. The other books in the series are: Not Fair, Won’t Share, I’m Not Happy, and Who Feels Scared?
This book is about rules and why we should obey them. A babysitter spends the day with two children and has to explain why the kids need to follow rules even when the parents are away. The young boy thinks rules are ‘silly’ and not only causes problems for himself, but for his sister as well. The story ends with the babysitter telling about the rules she has to follow at her job and the consequences she faces if she breaks them.
But Why Can’t I? seeks to show that there are reasons for the rules that exist, such as safety and health and that there are even rules for games (although the reason is simply that it makes things ‘fair’ which is a bit abstract). It also shows that adults have to follow rules as well. The situations the boy faces are ones that every child is familiar with. The world is a wonderful but confusing place when you are little. A child needs to know why we put so many boundaries in place around them.
However, I would have liked to see the babysitter use an example that was more relevant to the child. I do not know that a child at this beginning reader level cares about angry customers and bosses that impose seemingly arbitrary (the grown up word for ‘silly’) rules like telling you what you can wear. Does a young child really understand what it means to lose your job? Surely an adult faces many other rule-driven situations that are on the same wave-length as a six year old. The ending sounded like a frustrated parent trying to say, ‘My life is just as silly as yours, but -I- follow the rules so why can’t you?’
This misses an important point. Every child needs to push the boundaries at some point, and there isn’t any acknowledgement that sometimes this is a good thing to do. It is simply implied that if a rule exists, it must be obeyed because there is a good reason for it, somewhere. This may be enough for most young children, but I anticipate there will always be the young Einsteins, Tubmans, Goodalls, and Mozarts who need to explore the other side of the boundary.
After the story, there is a two page story board without words describing a similar situation. Children are encouraged to talk about what is happening in the pictures and answer questions about it. Following this is a teacher/parent guide to the book with tips on how to discuss the issues presented and gives suggested topics for discussion.
The vocabulary of the story is suitable for young readers to sound out by themselves, but not the included instructions which are intended solely for the adult. The illustrations are expressive and simple so that it is easy to see how each character feels about what is happening.
Word Seeds 