Look How Much I've Grown in KINDergarten (A KINDergarten Book) by Joey Chou, Vera Ahiyya
ISBN: 0593643968
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

Kindergarten is a time for discovering lots of ways to grow, but it can also be a time when children realize they are learning at a different pace than their peers. In Look How Much I’ve Grown in Kindergarten, the main character is a girl named Mason with freckles, wavy brown hair, and light brown skin,  who is worried “everyone can do everything right and I can’t”, comparing herself to her peers and feeling “small as a seed”. Many kindergarteners will identify with her frustrations: shoe tying, flower drawing, and identifying letter sounds. 

Mason’s kindergarten teacher, Ms. Perry, brown skin and coils of brown hair, helps her understand, “Everyone will grow differently but everyone is growing all the time.” The teacher’s support includes  asking the class of multiracial students to identify ways they would like to grow. The otherwise unremarkable story is buoyed by the charming and cheerful illustrations that support the plant motif running through the book: when Mason is successful at tying her shoes she feels “as tall as a sunflower”; flowers and plants appear on every page; and at the end of the story, Ms. Perry declares to the class that seeds need help to grow, “just like you!”

Ahiyya stresses the importance of the growth mindset, and its components, time and patience. Back matter contains an author’s note for parents regarding patience and practice for developing skills, growth mindset tips, a step-by-step shoe tying diagram, and a template for a thank you card.

Recommended for public and early elementary school library collections where other books by Ahiyya (the Tutu Teacher) are popular.

Reviewed by Deanna Contrino, SLMS/MLIS, Young School Librarian, Saco