Shelly

by Margie Palatini, Guy Francis (Illustrations)

According to his bossy sisters, Shelly is taking far too long to develop. Adelaide wants Shelly to skate with her. Miranda wants him to be an artist, like she is. Tallulah wants Shelly to dance and twirl. Shelly’s efforts to follow their commands— while still in his shell—make him dizzy. But when he’s left to his own devices, he has no trouble coming up with his own kind of fun. Shelly will emerge when he’s good and ready. When will that be? Only he knows! This lively story is for every kid who does things his or her way, despite pushy relatives.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what to make of this book. It's cute. It's kind of fun. You can see how one poor boy can feel overwhelmed with three sisters. But I wasn't sure if they were getting at him being ready to hatch, or to choose to be a certain way or what. I thought it was hatch, but didn't think his sisters could be that dumb to notice what he was doing. And I couldn't see what the problem would be for him to just say he wasn't going to be like the three of them. So, I'm not sure what the story was getting at, but it was still a cute story. Can't think of how to tie it into my Book Time at all though.

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 2006.

I really liked this book about siblings. I think it would be a great read aloud and open up a discussion about dealing with siblings.

[Ham · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations caught my eye, but the storytelling was meh, and the prose was yek. I hate it when authors slather on repetitive words for effect (like Amelia Bedelia's name). I don't care if it is good for kid's cognitive development. It drives me crazy! Here's a passage from SHELLY:

"Wednesday?" asked Adelaide. "Wednesday?" asked Miranda. "Wednesday?" asked Tallulah.

While the kids learning to read may love it, those of us that have been reading for a while must resist the urge to rip out the offending pages.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for storytime especially one about siblings. This also puts me in mind of Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus and Ruby in Her Own Time by Jonathan Emmett. This one has a little twist, this sibling marches to his own beat in his own time.

[Ghislaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute!

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reluctant duck doesn't want to leave his shell, which irritates his sisters.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so cute! I loved how sweet it was and I loved the ending. :)
Sometimes we are all like Shelly and we have our own quiet selfs, I loved how this book expressed that.

[Allison Fish]

1. no awards
2. k-2 grade
3. A duckling not ready to hatch is pressured by his sisters to be like them. They have him try things they like to see if he is "ready" to be like them yet. All Shelly wants to do though is be himself and do what he likes alone.
4. The illustrations are really nice and I like the story line. Great book to remind students to be themselves and not let someone pressure them to be more like them.
5. a. Could open discussion about the students interests and hobbies
b. Talk to students about peer pressure and staying true to who they are.