The Golden Rule – Treat others the way you’d like to be treated.
Lovely 5-Star Review for The Golden Rule by Holly Connors for the Feathered Quill Book Reviews:
Quill says: Another winner in the Sherrill Cannon collection of children’s illustrated books that engage readers while also teaching important lessons.
The Golden Rule By: Sherrill S. Cannon
Illustrated by: Kalpart Reviewed by: Holly Connors Review Date: March 2016
Young readers get ready! Author Sherrill Cannon has penned another fun, engaging book that not only entertains but teaches a very important lesson too. As our story opens, we meet Robert and Kait, siblings who are on a mission:
“We need to start looking for something that’s great,” Said Robert, while talking to his sister, Kait. “For there is a ruler Mom says is quite old It must be important – it’s made out of gold!”
Right away, parents will catch on to the wordplay that is going on, but it takes Robert and Kait (and likely our young readers) a bit longer to figure out just what the Golden Rule is. Our two protagonists decide that if the ‘ruler’ is made out of gold, it must be valuable. Perhaps they could sell it and make some money. Robert and Kait head to their school, for where else would a ‘ruler’ be kept? They look everywhere – under chairs, on the desks – but the only ruler they find is an old, plastic ruler. Ewwww… Perplexed at their inability to find the ruler, Kait asks Robert if perhaps they’re looking for the wrong type of ruler. Robert thinks for a minute and then a light bulb goes off (yup, we see a light bulb over his head) and he says,
“It’s not a ruler…It’s a rule, instead!” That’s why we can’t find it – it’s not just at school. It’s not a school ruler, or a measuring tool… It’s a rule that you live by, to give and to share, A way to treat others to show that you care.”
The two children are thrilled that they’ve figured out what the golden rule is and now it’s time to share with others just what it means. The bulk of The Golden Rule is devoted to Kait and Robert looking into how this important rule can, and should, be applied to everyday experiences. From bullying to ‘Paying It Forward,’ readers will learn about numerous situations where being kind and treating others the way you want to be treated, is THE BEST way to live your life.
This is the fourth book by Sherrill Cannon that Feathered Quill has reviewed (and the second by this reviewer), and like the others, Manner-Man, My Fingerpaint Masterpiece and Mice & Spiders & Webs…Oh My!, this one is a winner. Ms. Cannon is a master at writing playful rhymes that impart important lessons, and her use of wordplay (see also: Mice & Spiders & Webs…Oh My!) is clever and quite funny. The rhyming flows nicely while conveying an important lesson, and that’s not easy to do! Add in the always entertaining illustrations by Kalpart, and you have another 5-Star children’s book by Ms. Cannon!
(I have to add a quick comment from Ellen Feld, when I thanked her for the nice review and told her, “I hope this will help me to reach more young readers (and their parents) with a message that seems to need reinforcing in today’s troubled world. (Too bad I can’t send copies to congress!!)”
She replied, “My first good laugh of the day – yes!!! Congress could sooooo use your book!!!!” )
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