The Secret Olivia Told Me (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Nancy devard (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Can you keep a secret? Olivia has a secret - a BIG secret. It's a secret that she tells only to her very best friend. And her friend promises she won't say a word. But the secret is really BIG and really Juicy. What happens when a trusted friend slips and the secret gets out?

About the Author

N. Joy writes children's and young adult books as well as urban Christian fiction for adults. The executive editor for a new Christian imprint and a magazine columnist, she is currently working on a young adult series entitled The Soul Sisters. She lives in the midwest with her husband and three children.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Just Us Books, Inc.; 1st edition (September 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933491086
• ISBN-13: 978-1933491080
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 10.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #133,289 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #53 in

  Books > Nonfiction > Education > Education Theory > Decision Making & Problem Solving

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The Secret Olivia Told Me, September 6, 2009

By	Shel Julian Kessel "SJ Kessel" (Columbus, Oh) - See all my reviews

Joy, N. (2007). The Secret Olivia Told Me. East Orange, NJ: Just Us books.

9781933491080

Olivia has told the narrator of this picturebook a secret. A BIG one. The narrator does her best to keep it secret, but inevitably lets it slip to a friend and the secret spreads and grows from there.

The untold secret is wonderfully represented as a red balloon that is blown up as the secret spreads. The fact that the secret remains unsaid is relevant and allows students to imagine their own life experiences on to the text.


The illustrations are wonderful, done in black and white outlines, with very intentional use of the color red.


Activities:

A teacher could guide discussion of when the color red is incorporated into the illustrations and the significance of its use as well as the meanings traditionally given to the color in literature. Why are the rest of the illustrations in black and white? Students could also think about the balloon as a symbol and consider intertextuality, or other children's books that include balloons. Another important topic to discuss is secrets, what advice can students give one another to keep secrets. If a secret slips out, what do you do then? How do students feel the narrator handled the situation? How do they think Olivia handled it? Are there secrets that children should report to an adult? etc.

In response to the book, students could journal about how they feel about secrets. Have they ever told a secret? Have they ever heard others share secrets, but exclude them?

An innovative teacher could also make copies of some of the characters from the book and create popsicle-stick figurines for students to re-enact the drama of The Secret Olivia Told Me.

Quotes of Note:

"Olivia told me a SECRET.
I promised I would not tell."

"As I played with my classmate, Ayanna,
the secret accidentally slipped.
Before I could catch the secret,
it tumbled right out of my lips."

"Tabby passed it on to her classmates.
She blew up the secret, too."

"The secret became even bigger,
with parts that were not true.
The secret was no longer special
because now everyone knew."

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Teaching Tool to Deal With Rumors, Gossip, and Friendship, February 26, 2009

By	School Counselor (USA) - See all my reviews

Great book to read to 2-5th graders to teach how harmful rumors, gossip, and secrets can be to friendships. I especially liked the picture of the red balloon which represented the secret. Kids will love this book. Great social story.