Mum’s the Word!
The secret is out. Reviewer Debbie Glade loves this book about keeping (or not keeping) secrets.
As a child, as soon as someone told me a secret and made me promise not to tell anyone, I would burst with the urge to tell someone. Well, in Olive and the Big Secret ($15.99, Templar Books, Ages 4 and up), readers learn one of the best life lessons. If you have a secret, keep it to yourself!
The characters in the book are all very cute animals of sorts. A rabbit named, Molly tells her cat friend, Olive, a very big secret. The problem is that Olive is just like I was as a kid and saw no harm in telling just one friend that same very big secret. Well you can imagine what happens after that. The way Tor Freeman tells the story and illustrates it is very clever and engaging. She was inspired to write this story by her own memory of the very first time she told a secret.
I love the colorful, playful pictures that pop against the crisp white background. I also love the fact that readers learn how betraying trust can hurt someone, all the while keeping the story light and witty and charming. You’ll love the way this story ends and so will your child.
And just for the record, I am much better at keeping secrets these days than when I was a child!