Customer Reviews

Shy Charles (Picture Puffins)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As I read this book to my shy 3 year old dauther, I found that I needed to add text to clarify to her what was going on. Although the premise for the book is good, I feel it was not well written. I also was somewhat taken aback by the verbal cruelty of Charles' parents. Basically they told him he wouldn't amount to anything and some might spank him, just for being shy. This is NOT the message I wanted to send my kid. In the end, Charles shows everybody what he's made of, and they say thank you, but no one ever apologizes to him. I suppose you could argue that this represents the real world, but wow, how harsh. Since my daughter loves the illustrations, we keep reading and I keep add-libbing.

We are tried and true Rosemary Wells fans, and are familiar with most of her books. I borrowed this one from the library, and was disappointed to find Charles' parents expressing their frustration through language like "another mother would have spanked you" for not saying thank you or goodbye (maybe Wells could have the mother model good manners rather than threatening punishment)and the father actually calling him names for not participating in football, which Dad forced on him. What a negative approach to modeling the behavior you want your child to adopt, never mind giving parents the idea that it's OK to treat a child in this manner. Needless to say, I edited it heavily when I read it, then returned it to the library post haste! Not one for my library!

Charles is a terribly shy young mouse, and his parents want to know what is wrong with him. Will he ever be able to function normally? But, when Charles' babysitter falls down the stairs, Charles gets a chance to show just how normally he can function.

This is a nice little book with a nice lesson. One of my siblings had a daughter that was terribly shy, and when this sibling asked the doctor what could be done about it, he rather correctly answered, "What's wrong with being shy? She has a right to be shy." That's right, they learned the same lesson that the parents in this book needed to learn - there's nothing wrong with being shy.

I found this to be a very pleasant book with lots of very well done illustrations. I like the lesson, which for once is a lesson for the parents rather than for the child, and recommend this book.

I was at the library with my children tonight when I saw this book on the shelf. The title intrigued me as I have a 4 year old son Charles (we call him Charlie) who can be shy from time to time. I stopped what we were doing retrieved the book, and read it to him and my 2 daughters.

I really liked the concept: a painfully shy child who in difficult circumstances can function at a very high level. My children all liked it as well, my 6 year old reread it to everybody once I had finished.

Parents often worry needlessly about the level that their children are functioning. I can understand the fears of Charles's parents that his shyness will be a detriment to him later in life. I think my parents had similar fears when I did not talk in sentence form until I was already four. As it turns out, I might not have talked much for the first 1/2 decade of my life, but as they like to say: I haven't shut up since. My Dad now says if he knew I was going to talk so much, he would have worried less and enjoyed the peace and quiet more.

Given Well's fine illustrations and good storytelling ability, my affinity for the subject, and my children's positive reviews, I will not be shy in my praise for Shy Charles.

This is a wonderful little book that makes the point that being shy is not such a terrible thing. Charles shows that he can do OK, even if he is shy. An implication is that Charles' parents may have been wrong to try to make Charles over, that maybe they should have recognized his special strengths instead of focusing on his "weak" points, so the book has a message for both children and parents.

I like this book better than "I Don't Know Why... I guess I'm Shy" (see my review there), because it has a more tolerant view of individual differences, doesn't encourage kids to approach adult strangers, and has really great, funny illustrations. (In fact, I'd love to have a print of Charles on his roller skates!)

Charles is not just a little shy, he is EXTREMELY shy, so shy he really doesn't seem to talk at all. As usual, Rosemary Wells is not afraid to have a hero who is quite out of the mainstream. Unlike in most of her books, Charles' parents are not very understanding of him, and seem to be at the point of being quite fed up with his shyness, which can make him seem impolite. However, people in the community seem to understand he's a special little mouse who will come out of his shell when he's ready. An unusual picture book which makes you think about how children who are not outgoing are treated.

This is quite possibly one of the worst children's books I have ever read. I am a school social worker always searching for books to read to my students, but Shy Charles simply does not make the cut. This book is really poorly written and the ideas don't seem connected well enough for children to actually understand. As many other reviewers have mentioned, the book is essentially a story about a mother and father rebuking their child for being shy. The book is apparently supposed to rhyme, but the rhyme scheme is so bad that I didn't even notice until about the 10th page. If your looking for a book to gently guide shy children to be more social, this is not the book for you. Do not waste your money.

Nice book- but I presumed from the description it was tp support students that had trouble speaking - not that they were just shy - it is a nice story but shouldnt be advertised as an aid.

This book won a Boston Globe award. My favorite part about this book is that its very humerous. The storylines have a rhyme theme, that kids love! Younger grades will definatly get a laugh at the story. Shy Children can relate to the main character's quiet personality. The illustrations are also very unique. This is a great story time book for children!!

I felt odd reading a book to my child, where the "parents" in the book get angry at "Charles" for not talking. I feel my money would have been better spent on a different book.