“Henry’s Show and Tell” by Nancy Carlson is the cute story of a little gray mouse named Henry. He loves to go to kindergarten and listen to stories, learning his letters, singing songs, and painting pictures. He has a wonderful teacher named Ms. Bradley, and he really likes to go outside and play ball with his friends. But with all these things to love, unfortunately there’s something he doesn’t love . . . show and tell!
He likes hearing what the other kids have to share. It’s interesting to hear them talk about their collections, their favorite things, and their vacations. But when it’s Henry’s turn to stand up and talk, he gets so nervous, he starts to shake. Ms. Bradley understands how he feels, and she says he can take a seat and wait until next time. But then the next time comes, and the time after that, and Henry doesn’t feel one bit more confident than he did to start with.
Ms. Bradley tells Henry to choose something he really loves to talk about, and then to practice in front of the mirror. That sounds like it just might work, so Henry gives it a shot. His pet lizard, Wallace, is a lot of fun to talk about. He practices in front of a mirror and for his little brother. He’s ready to give it another try!
But when he takes Wallace to school, something awful happens. Wallace escapes! The whole classroom turns into pandemonium as the children help catch him. And then something amazing happens. Henry gets so excited in the chase, he forgets to be nervous and tells the children all about lizards. It’s the best show and tell presentation ever!
The next week, when it’s Henry’s turn to share, he can’t think of anything to say. And it’s not because he’s nervous . . . it’s because his pet spider has escaped!
This cute picture book will be a comfort and a help to any child who suffers from stage fright or other performance anxiety issues, and the illustrations are just delightful.
(This book was published in 2004 by Viking and was illustrated by the author.)
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