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I Can Help: A Picture Book
"Uh-oh. I'm lost," a little duck says.
"I can help," says a monkey, who swings down from a tree and points out Mama duck.
Then the monkey loses his balance! Who can help him?! Giraffe can!
And so the fun begins in this story, beautifully illustrated in watercolor and line, about how easy it is to help someone in need.
I Can Help is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
"I can help," says a monkey, who swings down from a tree and points out Mama duck.
Then the monkey loses his balance! Who can help him?! Giraffe can!
And so the fun begins in this story, beautifully illustrated in watercolor and line, about how easy it is to help someone in need.
I Can Help is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
2 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
December 17, 2020
I really like the illustrations and the message.
October 22, 2017
This is possibly the most precious of all of Costello's work...It's short, to the point, and very very sweet. Despite all of the troubles Costello had with this one, it has become my and my mother's favorite books of his. The illustrations are adorable, the message is something that everybody should read, and it's all bundled up in a nice little package.
This book is also perfect for a kindergarten classroom--it's shocking and short enough to get them to turn those pages and remain interested, and also features animals and problems that they can relate to. Also, it's so easy to integrate this into a writing activity by simply asking what animal may have a problem, and which other animal can help, and so on and so forth.
But since I don't have a kindergarten class at my disposal, I'll just stick with my niece and nephew for the time being!
Review cross-listed here!
This book is also perfect for a kindergarten classroom--it's shocking and short enough to get them to turn those pages and remain interested, and also features animals and problems that they can relate to. Also, it's so easy to integrate this into a writing activity by simply asking what animal may have a problem, and which other animal can help, and so on and so forth.
But since I don't have a kindergarten class at my disposal, I'll just stick with my niece and nephew for the time being!
Review cross-listed here!
October 13, 2016
Good potential for a toddler storytime. Animals they can recognize. Bright colors to keep their attention. Not too much text. And enough of a story that perhaps the older ones may be able to follow along.
8/10/10 & 8/12/10 Went very well. I had them guess animals and do some things they might see that animal do. The parents seemed to like the book, too.
3/24/11 The toddlers loved this--first group more than the second. They liked the animals and they liked mimicking the helping actions.
10/12/16 & 12/13/16 Used as opener for Ducks toddler theme. I decided to try something new. So I taught them the signs for I, can, help, and thank you. So each time an animal said it, I had them do the actions with me. It had them repeating over and over as I book panned and turned pages. Emphasized the repetitive, but I was OK with that.
8/10/10 & 8/12/10 Went very well. I had them guess animals and do some things they might see that animal do. The parents seemed to like the book, too.
3/24/11 The toddlers loved this--first group more than the second. They liked the animals and they liked mimicking the helping actions.
10/12/16 & 12/13/16 Used as opener for Ducks toddler theme. I decided to try something new. So I taught them the signs for I, can, help, and thank you. So each time an animal said it, I had them do the actions with me. It had them repeating over and over as I book panned and turned pages. Emphasized the repetitive, but I was OK with that.
August 5, 2018
Today I am going to read you a book called "I Can Help" by David Hyde Costello. This story is about a duck who loves to explore the world on his own without his parents watching his every move. One day, the duck gets lost and can't find his family. We are going to find out how the duck finds his family.
A sweet story about how we can all do something that can help someone else. Nice reoccurring text "I can help" ("Te puedo ayudar") and "Thank you" ("Gracias") offers lots of opportunities for participation. Kids will delight in anticipating the animal that needs help, and the animal who helps. Great book to roleplay in the classroom and practice being kind.
A sweet story about how we can all do something that can help someone else. Nice reoccurring text "I can help" ("Te puedo ayudar") and "Thank you" ("Gracias") offers lots of opportunities for participation. Kids will delight in anticipating the animal that needs help, and the animal who helps. Great book to roleplay in the classroom and practice being kind.
August 16, 2021
What a sweet book! I really enjoyed the fact that it shows all the different ways the animals in the story can help each other and the willingness to help. I like that the story "shows" helping, kindness, and gratitude instead of "telling" about it. The prose are simple but effective and the illustrations are very nice. We can add as much to the story as we want or leave it simple. Great for a very young audience. I'm not sure if my son finds it as funny as I do, but I found the ending quite funny.
January 29, 2023
I think this book is a great choice for toddlers and their literacy development! The small number of words on each page really allow the reader to expand with their own dialogue and interact with the child to describe what's happening. It also features animals that children can practice identifying and making matching sounds for. Finally, the short, repetitive lines make a wonderful tool for children learning how to speak, as the phrases used are relevant for real life communication and fairly simple to translate into sign language.
September 21, 2022
This book starts off with a duck being lost and a monkey helping him find his way to his family, then the book continues and shows different animals needing help and other animals coming in to help them. While the book doesn't have many words, the illustrations are great and the book is easy enough to understand and infer what will happen next. This is a great book to read when learning about animals or reminding your students that it is always nice to help others!
April 11, 2019
In addition to the simple, colorful illustrations, the trim size is my favorite part. This book is perfect for the little hands of the youngest picturebook reader. The charming story is perfect for that age, too, about baby animals helping each other in various ways. What child hasn't said, "I can help!"?
May 17, 2024
Hey darling picture book! Super quick read, as there is very little text on each page, just quick phrases. I love the cute animals, and how they are all willing to help each other. Good lessons for your children!
January 10, 2018
This is a really cute book! It just doesn't work for my storytime since I have a group of 70, but I would keep it in my regular rotation if I had a smaller group.
May 2, 2018
we read cute books during slow time around here
October 31, 2018
Sweet full circle helping book. Exceedingly simple. Great for baby storytime.
Read
September 14, 2020What a simple, sweet lovely book about helping one another! A wonderful resource for helping very young children understand they can be helpful, too.
Read
January 7, 2022Cute
March 10, 2022
Great illustrations and I love the story of how we can all help each other!
July 7, 2022
A cute story about helping one another, with lots of animals
February 22, 2023
Very fun book that teaches kids that we all need help and we can be the help when others need it.
April 20, 2023
Beautiful, gentle introduction to how we all depend upon each other and all have special talents.
Love re-reading this with my toddler grandson.
Love re-reading this with my toddler grandson.
February 7, 2025
So sweet, love the activity suggestion at the end (in the PJ Library edition, not sure if it's in other editions).
December 7, 2025
Cute animals helping.
It's an average picture book.
It's an average picture book.
January 19, 2026
This is one of the first books my little one memorized and “read” to herself, at like 20 months old! Precious book! Love the illustrations too
September 27, 2024
Read to my 4 year old
February 18, 2017
In the spirit of pay-it-forward, a duck needs help because he is lost. A kind monkey offers help and lifts him up so he can spot his family among the reeds. The monkey loses his grip on the tall, breaking branch and needs help to avoid falling. A kind giraffe offers help to break his fall....It all cycles back to the duck. :)
Simple, sparse text. Bright, colorful illustrations.
Simple, sparse text. Bright, colorful illustrations.
February 9, 2015
Pay It Forward, but punched up and with a cleaner storyline. Less preachy, and a less hackey ending. The young duck delivers a great interpretation of Haley Joel Osment's character, though his mother fails to hold a candle to Helen Hunt's performance. With the role being diminished, I understand this was harder to pull off. Unfortunately, Jon Bon Jovi's character was written out entirely, but more devastating to the narrative is Jay Mohr's character's omission. One animal touched by the chain reaction tracing it back to the young duck would really have tied it all together.
And I've got a soft spot for Jay Mohr since he began hosting duties at BlizzCon. Not the first year or two he did it, when he mostly just mocked the audience and used his Walken impression as a cheap crutch when the jeers got too loud. Seriously, he bombed that gig the first year and the first night of the second year. But eventually? He dialed into the audience and started to get laughs without rehashing dated impressions. A crowd like that? You toss out a few references that hint you might get what they're passionate about, and you've won them over. When I saw him make a Barrens reference? I knew he had finally figured out the gig. Or hired a writer to help him deliver.
And I've got a soft spot for Jay Mohr since he began hosting duties at BlizzCon. Not the first year or two he did it, when he mostly just mocked the audience and used his Walken impression as a cheap crutch when the jeers got too loud. Seriously, he bombed that gig the first year and the first night of the second year. But eventually? He dialed into the audience and started to get laughs without rehashing dated impressions. A crowd like that? You toss out a few references that hint you might get what they're passionate about, and you've won them over. When I saw him make a Barrens reference? I knew he had finally figured out the gig. Or hired a writer to help him deliver.
March 4, 2010
Little Duck is lost in the tall grass and is helped by Monkey. This starts a chain of helpful actions where one animal helps the next. Monkey is caught by a giraffe when he falls from a tree, Giraffe is helped when Gorilla bends a branch low enough, Gorilla’s splinter is pulled out by a bird. And it continues, one after the other until the chain loops back when Little Duck helps Elephant find a cool pool of water. Unfortunately, moments later Little Duck is once again lost in the grass, but now there are lots of animals willing to help!
Very simply written in short sentences, this book clearly demonstrates how one good deed gets repaid again and again. Costello’s art is as clear and simple as his text with illustrations filled with deep colors that are very inviting. As the chain continues, each animal is united with a parent after they are helped. This small touch adds to the warmth of the book. It is also pleasant to see that each animal gives thanks for the help they receive.
Perfection for toddler or even baby storytimes, this book exudes a bright friendliness that all children will find inviting. Appropriate for ages 1-4.
Very simply written in short sentences, this book clearly demonstrates how one good deed gets repaid again and again. Costello’s art is as clear and simple as his text with illustrations filled with deep colors that are very inviting. As the chain continues, each animal is united with a parent after they are helped. This small touch adds to the warmth of the book. It is also pleasant to see that each animal gives thanks for the help they receive.
Perfection for toddler or even baby storytimes, this book exudes a bright friendliness that all children will find inviting. Appropriate for ages 1-4.
January 6, 2013
A cute little story about how we can all do something that can help someone else.
The drawings here are very traditional -- the truly illustrate what's going on with the story. They're solid, but not particularly extraordinary.
Good for a story time about helpers or animals. You could definitely clip some of the pages to make it appropriate for baby time or antsy toddlers, even. Nice reoccurring "I can help" and "Thank you" text could give an opportunity for participation, and there's definitely an opportunity on each page to talk more about what's going on (how is the gorilla helping the giraffe?).
The drawings here are very traditional -- the truly illustrate what's going on with the story. They're solid, but not particularly extraordinary.
Good for a story time about helpers or animals. You could definitely clip some of the pages to make it appropriate for baby time or antsy toddlers, even. Nice reoccurring "I can help" and "Thank you" text could give an opportunity for participation, and there's definitely an opportunity on each page to talk more about what's going on (how is the gorilla helping the giraffe?).
September 10, 2013
The illustrations in this book are quite traditional in style--pleasant, but nothing really memorable. However, they do enrich the story and add to the narrative for young children.
The narrative itself is about how we all can offer something of value to the world by helping each other out. This message is conveyed simply and with few words, so even the very young can understand. The repetition and clarity of language make it a great choice for toddlers and early readers.
My 22 month old loves it and has already started to recite some of the story on her own. I suspect we'll have to borrow it from the library again.
The narrative itself is about how we all can offer something of value to the world by helping each other out. This message is conveyed simply and with few words, so even the very young can understand. The repetition and clarity of language make it a great choice for toddlers and early readers.
My 22 month old loves it and has already started to recite some of the story on her own. I suspect we'll have to borrow it from the library again.
September 30, 2016
This is a very cute picture book for young children, I would recommend for first grade and younger. This book is good for a lesson because it conveys the message that if we help one another we can reach bigger and better goals. This book is a series of animals that help one another with simple tasks such as finding the water, reaching in a tree for food, or slipping and falling from a tree. Implementing a helping others message to younger kids can help them get along and learn to help one another more often.
March 9, 2010
I like the message in this small book and the progression of animals. The illustrations are a bit too small for storytimes. It is a simple message a refrain that reminds me of some popular insurance TV commericals these days but still a positive message and I like the teamwork aspect. We could all use a bit of helpfulness!
December 3, 2015
This was a nice picture book about a little duck who gets lost and when a monkey helps him find his way back to his family, a chain reaction of kindness begins in which all the young animals help each other solve their problems. The illustrations are lovely, and this would be an awesome book to have in any child's library collection.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews