Candlewick Press, January 2005 Paperback, 40 pages ISBN: 0763626902 Recommended Ages: Baby - Preschool

Review by Sherri Allen:

Anita Jeram's "All Together Now" tells story of Honeys and how they became a family. The story starts with Mommy Rabbit leading her children in singing their family song. The children all have their own special parts to sing, because each child is different. You see, "children" are Bunny, Little Duckling and Miss Mouse. Bunny was Mommy Rabbit's first child. One day, Little Duckling hatched from his egg, followed Bunny home and became second child in Honey family. Later, Bunny and Little Duckling found Miss Mouse all alone and Mommy Rabbit quickly welcomed her into family, too.

Children learn about strong character when parents and other adults in their daily lives

· set a good example through their own behavior and actions,

· set and communicate high standards and clear expectations,

· coach them on how to be responsible and kind, and

· use literature to reinforce values of strong character.

Set a Good Example

We are always teaching our children something by our words and our actions.

They learn from seeing. They learn from hearing and from overhearing. They learn from us, from each other, from other adults in community and by themselves.

Children share values of their parents about most important things in life. Our priorities and principles and our examples of good behavior can teach our children to take high road when other roads look tempting.

Remember that children do not learn values that make up strong character simply by being told about them. They learn by seeing people around them act on and uphold those values in their daily lives.