On the Playground: Our First Talk About Prejudice

It is not easy to rate this book. It's important to have books about bullies and prejudice at school but I feel like this one is too abstract and too hard to read for children. The book is composed of two different kinds of texts: a short and easy-to-read part with dynamic questions to the reader, and a very dense and abstract part uses to define complex words that is too hard for children to understand.

I didn't feel like the rhythm of the book was well structured either. A kid is bullied at school, and the discussion about what to do only comes in the final pages of the book. It is also not easy for kids to understand words like ‘prejudice', ‘harassment', ‘ageism', even if their are explained.

There is an interview in one column of Sophie Kamlish. I feel that instead of saying “she inspired one of our characters from the book”, it would have been easier for kids to simply put a drawing of her next to the interview. It is not easy for kids or for adults to remember which person they are talking about.

Overall, I feel like the book needs to be more straightforward to deliver answers about what is bullying/prejudice, what to do when you notice it, what to do when you suffer from it, and how to practice being more tolerant to people different from us. The book also really needs to simplify its definition, which are more at the level of a high school student right now.

I appreciated the diversity in the photography, portraying children with disabilities, children of colors, and same-sex parents.

Thank you NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Read and reviewed: 2018-11-05