"Just Josie"

"This is Josie. Her full name was Josephine Emily, but everyone just calls her Josie." These are the opening words to one of JR's favorite books:  Just Josie and the Perfect Day. It is also one of my favorites. I picked it up on clearance at the bookstore and have not stopped loving it since then.

JR and I would huddle on the couch, or cuddle in bed, and read it time and again. We have read it so many times, in fact, that JR knows the words to the book herself. It light and humerous, with easy to grasp vocabulary and ideas. From it, kids can walk away learning about taking a "deep breath" and "count(ing) to ten." They will also learn that while a day may not start out the way they had pictured it, it may still have a happy ending. A little patience and a change in perspective can bring on a rainbow.

Josie had her mind set up on the perfect birthday party, but then things start going wrong. She tries to handle the situation as best as a kid can, and in my opion Josie did a good job working through the challenges, but as things worsen she has her meltdown. Rather than get upset with her, though, her mother helps her look out the window to see the beautiful rainbow that had just formed through the rain and the clouds.

Just Josie may be more fitting for a girl reader with all the talk about hair and clothes and shoes, but the lessons it portrays are gender-neutral. The book has since been discontinued but you can purchase it for your Kindle here.