Easy peasy by Ky Garvey and Amy Calautti

When Ruby gets a new pair of roller skates for her birthday she is overjoyed. She has never owned a pair before, and they are red, her favourite colour. She sleeps with them that night ready for the new day tomorrow. 

Dad offers to help her learn how to use them, but she insists that learning how to use them would be easy peasy. Before she gets out of bed she slips them onto her feet, but finds herself sailing across the bedroom floor into the wall. Dad offers again, and again she calls out, no, its easy peasy and heads out to the garden. But here it happens again and she ends up in a flower bed. Dad calls out again, and no she calls back, its easy peasy and tries again. But this time she falls onto her bottom and throws the skates into the cupboard. Dad again offers to help, but this time she tells him it is too hard. The next day she retrieves her skates from the cupboard and asks her dad to help her learn how to use them. A lesson has been learn.

But more lessons follow as dad teaches her how to use her skates, holding her hand as they set together until one day she is able to let go his hand and skate by herself.

An unabashed teaching tool, this story tells children to try and try again and then ask for help, help they know will be eagerly given. Teacher's notes are available.

The relationship between father and daughter is wonderful to read about as he offers help without being overwhelming, allowing her to come to the conclusion of needing help by herself.  The illustrations follow the storyline perfectly, showing a considerate father giving his daughter time to try something by herself and then sees her able to ask for help.

EK Books can be found here. They publish ‘Books with heart on issues that matter’.

Themes: Roller skating, Fathers and daughters, Life skills, Tenacity, Sayings.

Fran Knight