Smile! by Leigh Hodgkinson

• 11/14/2013
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Smile!
Leigh Hodgkinson
Balzer + Bray (2009)
ISBN 9780061852695
Reviewed by Grace (age 5) and Ella (age 4) Gleichner with Mom for Reader Views (10/09)

“Smile!” is the thoroughly enjoyable story about Sunny, whose disposition is, for the most part, sunny – but not today.  Sunny has lost her smile and isn’t quite sure where it could be, or how to go about finding it again.

Sunny loves to smile and understands how important her smile is – how it makes her who she is.  So Sunny goes in search of her smile and gets some help along the way which helps her keep moving in the right direction.

Grace: “You can’t really lose your smile, can you?  I better use mine even more so I always know where to find it!”

Ella: “I would help her look for her smile.  I am a good helper and can find things that get lost.”

The search for her smile takes Sunny to her bedroom, where she finds everything but her smile under her bed.  My girls really liked this part.

Grace: “That looks like under my bed.”

Ella: “My room isn’t that messy.  Someone should teach her the clean-up song like we sing in school.”

Sunny then gets the idea that her smile might have been stolen, not lost at all.  But, who would steal her smile?  As she is looking her room gets clean, her fish gets fed, and she gets to play with her dog.  She eventually finds her smile again.

“Smile!” by Leigh Hodgkinson is recommended for children ages 2-6 and that is definitely the right age group.  It was such a nice easy read and made us all smile!