How to Apologize

“‘Every­one makes mis­takes,’ opens this guide to account­abil­i­ty. Every page shows a dif­fer­ent sit­u­a­tion in which some­one owes anoth­er an apol­o­gy: when a pen­guin para­chutes into an alligator’s bath­room dur­ing bath­time, when stu­dent politi­cians trade jabs, when a giraffe has bor­rowed a worm’s socks with­out ask­ing, or when a chick­en breaks a goat’s violin…In Wohnoutka’s light gouache illus­tra­tions, the many full-bleed spreads and care­ful use of white space keep the tone friend­ly and focused. With­out ever feel­ing preachy or pre­scrip­tive, the calm, even, non­judg­men­tal tone reminds read­ers that “apol­o­giz­ing can be hard,” but it’s impor­tant to be sin­cere and sim­ple with­out mak­ing excus­es. The per­fect bal­ance of humor and grav­i­ty deliv­ers the mes­sage in an appeal­ing way, and even the most out­landish sce­nar­ios are acces­si­ble. Most of the scenes are entire lit­tle sto­ries in and of them­selves while a cou­ple have slight­ly longer res­o­lu­tions. Chil­dren and adults alike can see them­selves in both the aggriev­ed par­ty and the wrong­do­er, all pre­sent­ed with under­stand­ing and com­pas­sion. Equal­ly use­ful as a les­son on social-emo­tion­al dynam­ics and as a sto­ry, this book has a place on every shelf. A nec­es­sary and enter­tain­ing approach to con­flict res­o­lu­tion.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)