Too Shy for Show-and-Tell

Little Boost

by Beth Bracken, Jennifer A. Bell (Illustrator)

Sam is a quiet little boy who hates show-and-tell. Just thinking about it makes his stomach hurt. Sam must find a way to conquer his fear and make the most of his turn at show-and-tell. This picture book is great for teaching children about emotions and challenges.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, School, Animals, Storytime, Emotion, Friendship

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2011

About the author

Beth Bracken is a children's book editor. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband, Steve, and their son, Sam. When she's not reading, writing, or editing books, Beth spends most of her time knitting endlessly while watching reruns of old TV shows and drinking lots of tea.

Reviews

[Meri · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Shyness is fine. But shyness can stop you!!!"

[Taneika Miliam]

Text-to-Self
I enjoyed reading this book. I can relate to being shy at times. When standing in front of crowds of people. It reminds me of a time when I had to do an introduction of the speaker at my church, it felt like the hardest thing to do. I still have not gotten over my fear of speaking. I have taken a public speaking class and still can’t seem to shake the fear or being shy. I would like to come up with a strategy for myself and the student that I come in contact with that has this same issues.

[Frances Coe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet book that children could explore with an adult or by themselves. Sam the giraffe worries and puts off having to talk in front of the class. The imagery clearly depicts those gut-churning feelings, and all the things children do to avoid something. A good book to generate chat

[Alice Maton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute book about a young giraffe who didn't talk a lot and was worried about show and tell. This can, I'm sure, relate to many children and even adults. He has the same feelings many of us do when getting up in front of our peers but in the end everything was fine. A very short story too, good if you have a few minutes to spare.

[Rahmadiyanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ya ampuuun, Sam, kamu pemalu sekali... kayak saya dulu, sekarang juga masih sih (banyak yang nggak percaya kayaknya :D).

Buku ini bagus banget! Memberi pemahaman kepada anak-anak bagaimana menaklukkan rasa malu melalui kisah Sam, si jerapah cilik. Sam yang pendiam, tak banyak teman-temannya tahu tentang Sam. Teman-temannya tak tahu kalau Sam suka mainan truk, suka kue cokelat, dan memelihara anjing yang lucu. Karena Sam tidak pernah berbicara dan Sam benci "show and tell" alias berbicara di depan kelas, di hadapan teman-teman dan gurunya. Nah, bagaimana Sam menaklukkan rasa malu tersebut?

Di sekeliling kita pasti banyak anak-anak yang sangat pemalu, pendiam, seakan tak mau dirinya diketahui dunia. Padahal bagi perkembangan jiwa anak, hal tsb tak sepenuhnya bagus. So, *mengulang*, buku ini bagus bangeett, dibaca bareng anak dengan orangtua/guru untuk membangkitkan keberanian anak berbicara di hadapan orang lain.

[Danielle T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam is shy and afraid of messing up or being made fun of for his show and tell item (or if he messes up). Everyone in this book is an animal though it's not plot relevant (unless you wonder about a giraffe boy owning a dog? though now that I think about it maybe you could say all the animal students/teacher are African - giraffe, hippo, elephant, alligator or crocodile, mouse, ostrich) so for me, it falls into the "are they animals to avoid having kids who look like kids and having that demographics conversation).

thinking about it, Sam could be a girl arguably, albeit one who likes trucks? I'm definitely overthinking it compared to my kid, but part of parenting is examining the materials we provide for consumption (and not forcing that decision on all kids in our municipality, looking at you Idaho...)

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The only thing that people knew about Sam was that he didn’t talk much.”

Sam doesn’t like to speak in front of people, so when Miss Emily, his teacher, says Friday will be Show-and-Tell day, Sam tries his best to get out of it. He tells his mother he doesn’t feel well and should stay home from school. But mother sends him to school. He tells Miss Emily that he forgot to bring his item to talk about. Miss Emily says he can just talk about it. It seems he’s going to have to go through with it. What if he says something wrong? What if his classmates laugh at him? What if he faints or cries?

When it’s Sam’s turn, he takes a deep breath and forges ahead. And to his surprise, he makes it through without anything bad happening and his classmates even applause.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute story...poor little guy was scared to be infront of everyone. Help kids to.know it is ok to be scared and or nervous to talk infront od everyone. But little giraffe is scared and no one knows who he is, or what he likes. Poor little guy learns he wont get laughed at for sharing at show and tell.

[Zoraida Rivera Morales · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel shy kids can identify very easily with Sam. We get to know Sam and how he feels and see how he deals with the task of talking in front of the class. This book can be a great tool for kids who need to prepare to talk in front of the class, but, also, for teachers who wish to foster a positive climate in the classroom that will enable kids to feel safe to share.

[Jessica Shamblin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for children who are shy or have anxiety. It’s important to understand that it’s ok to be nervous. Many children experience the same emotions. Sam gives the children someone to connect to. Other children who don’t get nervous may understand those who do after reading this book. This can get rid of the divide in shy and not-shy children.

[Josephine Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute book to address shyness and about building the courage to face your fears, only to realize there was nothing to be scared of. Sharing this in a kids setting would definitely be great! Encourages shy students, while setting a model for what a classroom setting should be like--attentive and respectable!

[Shannon Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book but tiny typing

This is a great book to help kids relate to fears of public speaking. Thank goodness for the zoom mode because the words are written very tiny. I think it has just the right amount of repetition to help emergent readers it was overall enjoyable for both mom and kiddo

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too Shy For Show And Tell – Beth Bracken – You ever read something and have flashbacks? Do you know why they made us do show and tell in kindergarten? To try and make us not hate public speaking. Did it work? Meh . But this is a cute story to remind your nervous public speaker that they are not alone in their worries! Happy Reading!

[Shantay Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute book that can be used to help children realize and understand that not everyone can get up and speak in front of others easily. It also promotes dialogue. It could be used to assist a shy child in getting up for show and tell.

[Ellie Blood]

Lovely book about a Sam who was shy, didn’t like talking in front of people, worried he would be laughed at. Good for teaching children about overcoming emotions and challenges and the importance of making each other feel welcome/calm.

[Mayra Espinoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book about a shy giraffe and how he overcomes his biggest fear. It would be a great addition to any classroom. I feel kindergarteners and even first graders could really use the lesson taught in this book and apply it to their lives if they are really shy.

[Tayler K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts off really sad. No one knows about the things Sam likes because he is very shy and doesn't talk much. Sam is very anxious about show and tell, but as he watches his classmates take their turns, he realizes it might be safe to try...

[Jasmine Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for EDU146 booklist

I added this book for my EDU 146 booklist for teaching children about different emotions. I would reccomend this book for cgildren ages 3-5.

[Charlotte Stafford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for discussing show and tell with early years. Can help those he feel more shy and encourage them to be brave like Sam in the story.

[David Haggett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beth Bracken captures most of our feelings about Show and Tell, and Jennifer A. Bell's illustrations are adorable.

[bradley stallings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

This book is a very good book it tells how you should not be afraid an up should be live in yourself

[rakhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

I want to keep this forever and send it to all my friends. Had fun reading it for my son.

[Hu Ziyin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I'm scared of public speaking too. But after reading this book, I felt encouraged. Love and enjoy reading it. I'll recommend this book to more friends.

[Marianne McKiernan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shyness

Cute story everyone who has had to make a presentation can relate to, and lovely illustrations. Of course a giraffe would wear a turtleneck sweater.

[Christine Maleport · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute

This is a sweet story to may be help kids that shy, or don’t want to speak in front of their class.

[Allison Karrels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story!

Loved the story great for kids especially my kid who is very shy. Awesome illustrations overall a great book for all ages! 🥳

[Marina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable

Nice reminder, even for adults with social anxiety.. Sometimes we think people are judging us when really they hope the best for us!

[Audrey M. smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was cute.

I liked how he started out very shy but then tried, and he did a good job and like it.

[Lisa Wee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish i read this when i was in kindergarten

I was shy when i was a kid. This book would have make me bolder or just less self conscious.

[Hilary Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for students to read who get nervous. This book allows kids to see that its okay to present in front of others and be nervous because in the end everything will be okay.