Cleo Can Tie A Bow by Sybrina Durant #childrenfiction #childhoodskills #picturebooks

Synopsis:

Cleo loves bows. She wears her hair in a bow and decorates her room with bows. Cleo is bow crazy.
Learning to tie a bow is very difficult for some people but Cleo remembers how to do it from a cute story she once heard. It is about a little rabbit with very long ears and a very helpful fox who shows her what to do to keep them clean. This is the story of how Cleo learns to tie a “bunny ear” bow.

My review:

This is one of those books that I have gone back and forth on. I do like this book and how it is very interactive. In a nut shell, it teaches children how to tie a bow. The premise is essentially for children to learn to tie their shoes. That in itself is a good thing and a skill all children need.

I did however, have a couple of problems with the book. The first was a very scary looking fox that looks like he will eat the bunny, but turns out to be friendly to all animals. That right there is confusing enough. Then the fox teaches a bunny how to tie her ears up.   The author in the back of the book tells this is not a good idea in real life and may hurt a real bunny. Children often imitate what they see and in spite of a warning, they could very well try to do on any animal with long ears. It might have been better not to include this or at least a different way.

My second problem was this book is extremely "girly".  Stereotypes are running rapid throughout the whole book. Everything with pink colors, dresses, long hair, bows, butterflies and adorable stuffed animals is completely throughout this book.   I cannot see a male child or even a child that does not look like her relating at all.

The pluses to this book though are the premise that I spoke above about. On the back cover, it states that children can work on their dexterity which is also correct with this new learned skill. I also liked that the book shows how ones imagination can turn into something extremely positive. For example, the fox and bunny are stuffed animals that Cleo has in her room.

I also like the large illustrations with few words, which makes this a picture book aimed at younger children. I think a child older than 6 would need more but yet, if they are learning to tie their shoes, it is a good resources and easily understood.

This book is a solid 3 stars for me.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle

Where to find the author:

Amazon

Goodreads