Review - I Walk with Vanessa

I Walk with Vanessa
by Kerascoët
Date: 2018
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

This simple yet powerful picture book--from a New York Times bestselling husband-and-wife team--tells the story of one girl who inspires a community to stand up to bullying. Inspired by real events, I Walk with Vanessa explores the feelings of helplessness and anger that arise in the wake of seeing a classmate treated badly, and shows how a single act of kindness can lead to an entire community joining in to help. With themes of acceptance, kindness, and strength in numbers, this timeless and profound feel-good story will resonate with readers young and old.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I didn't realize when I picked up this book that it's a wordless picture book. But, sometimes, those can be really powerful.

I Walk with Vanessa tells a story about a girl who is new to town. Nobody really seems to welcome her, and even worse, a bully picks on her after school. Another little girl notices this, and it troubles her. So, the next day, she starts a chain of kindness that ends up impacting many.

The illustrations are quite cute, and an interesting thing is done with the colour palette as the wave of kindness spreads. There's a nice little discussion at the end, more for parents who might be reading the book with their kids, but still worthwhile. I especially liked the bit that differentiated between tattling and telling, for kids who might be worried about getting accused of the former while trying to help: "Tattling is getting someone in trouble, and telling is getting someone out of trouble.

Overall, this is a really strong picture book, even though it doesn't have any text. The pictures are more than enough to tell the story and convey the emotions of the characters. I would definitely recommend this one.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: n/a
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 4 out of 5