Join In and Play (Learning to Get Along) [Paperback]

Cheri J Meiners (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2003 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years | Series: Learning to Get Along

It’s fun to make friends and play with others, but it’s not always easy to do.

You have to make an effort, and you have to know the rules—like ask before joining in, take turns, play fair, and be a good sport. This book teaches the basics of cooperation, getting along, making friends, and being a friend.

Includes ideas for games adults can use with kids to reinforce the skills being taught.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Reviewed with Cheri J. Meiners' Be Polite and Kind.

PreS-Gr. 1. Tailor-made for children struggling to master certain life skills, these colorful picture books spotlight behaviors that help kids get along with others. Each title shows children at home and in the classroom. In Polite, a boy talks about showing others through his words and actions that they are important to him. He concludes with "I want others to treat me with respect, so that's how I treat them." In Join In, a girl explains what she does and says when she wants to play with someone. The narrative maintains an even tone, giving options when things don't work out as expected and emphasizing the importance of talking and listening with respect as well as playing fair. With expressive drawings of children and adults from many ethnic groups, the illustrations show up clearly from a distance. Each book ends with four pages of ideas that parents and teachers can use to reinforce the concepts. Like the other sturdy paperbacks in the Learning to Get Along series, these will fill a demand for simple, straightforward books promoting social skills and attitudes helpful to preschool and primary-grade children. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“Surely needed...I heartily applaud this important series.”—Jay A. Monson, Ph.D., Professor of Elementary Education, Utah State University

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing (December 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575421526
• ISBN-13: 978-1575421520
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 0.2 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,472 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cheri J. Meiners, M.Ed. was born in Logan, Utah, and lives in Maryland with her husband David. They have six children and two grandchildren.

The 'Learning to Get Along' series of 15 evolved from books that Cheri wrote for her own children. In 2008, Reach Out and Give won the Carol D. Reiser children's book award for promoting volunteerism. The series was also a finalist in 2006 for Learning Magazine's Teacher's Choice Award. In 2005, Booklist named the books 'Top 5 Character Education Series'. Several of the books are currently translated into languages such as Portuguese, Arabic, Korean, Slovak, Indonesian, Greek and Chinese. The series has currently sold over 1.5 million copies.

Her education included studying Art in London, studying Swedish History, Language and Culture at Stockholm University, student teaching on the Ute Indian reservation in Utah, and graduating with High Honors in Elementary Education from Brigham Young University. She also volunteered as a missionary in Italy for a year and a half and later taught first graders in Idaho. She earned her Master's degree in Elementary and Gifted Education at Utah State University, where she also taught classes and supervised student teachers.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great series of books, pick any one! January 10, 2006

By A House of Readers

Format:Paperback

I would highly recommend any of the books in this series by Cheri Meiners. Join In and Play is a great book for parents whose children are shy or may avoid social interactions. It offers a variety of ways they can be included and have fun with their classmates and friends, even illustrating how to ask to join a game or play quietly beside another child. It also would be helpful in helping a more confident, popular child to reach out to quieter, less engaged peers.

These books caught my eye because the writing level is just right for pre-K and kindergarten children. Truthful without being preachy or overly wordy, the series shows children and family members from many different ethnic groups in the colorful illustrations, and each book addresses issues which are developmentally critical to this particular age group: sharing, taking turns, being afraid, listening, respecting others, helping out at home, etc. These books have given us a starting point to discuss problems at school or interacting with others, and have helped my son to have more empathy for his peers....I am hopeful that this quality will serve him well as he continues on to kindergarten and elementary school. It is exciting to hear him use ideas from this series to problem solve.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book! March 18, 2007

By Madeleine Dunphy

Format:Paperback

This is such a wonderful book. It is very thoughtful, respectful and kid friendly. The book spells out very clearly how to "join in and play." There is a wonderful teacher/parent guide in the back with activities for children to practice on how to make friends. The book is very well written and the illustrations are so dynamic. You can really tell how the children are feeling in the book by their facial expressions. (My only caveat is that the illustrator wasn't given credit on the byline. I don't know how the publisher go away with this but it is an egregious error in my perspective.) All the books in the series are wonderful! My daughter reads them over and over again.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Join in and Play (Learning to Get Along Series, Book #5) May 31, 2005

By John M. Giles

Format:Paperback

This series teaches skills that all of us should learn. It helps me as a parent to reinforce principles that I feel my child needs to understand. It's also great that given the choice between the Get Along books and classics such as Hercules...my four year old boy will choose to read the Get Along Series books.

--Mike (Father of three)