Believe in Yourself: What We Learned from Arthur

Gr 2-4–Unless children are 24/7 crazy for Arthur, D.W., and the rest of the gang, it’s unclear what audience this collection of life lessons starring Brown’s beloved aardvark is intended for. Not quite a chapter book, this sectioned-off picture book mines snippets from the books and television episodes then spells out their didacticism in painful recaps: “Buster may be just a kid, but he’s lucky to discover that the greatest job you can have is doing work that you love.” Between the somewhat grueling “Believe in” sections (“Believe in Yourself,” “Believe in Each Other,” “Believe in Working Together,” and “Believe in a Wonderful Kind of Day”) are “Words from D.W.” providing much-needed comic relief from Arthur’s hilarious little sister, and likely to have the most appeal for readers. The last section, “Believing in Arthur: How Arthur Came to Be,” is delightful all by itself, as either resource for a report, or for teachers doing a presentation on the series. The wonderful art is as appealing as ever, and thus the conundrum: Who is this book for?