Watch Kids' Reviews of
ISH

Loved it. All the children, both boys and girls enjoyed and connected with this video presentation of ish. They were scowling when the older brother was mean, humming along and laughing out loud and"ahh'ing" when they realized the sister was encouraging him. They all said they would watch it again. And, they said they should share it with their friends. "They would like it a lot. It reminds us to be nice to each other. It was cool how the illustrations come to life." "The boy was discouraged by his big brother picking on him and nearly gave up but then he realized that his sister loved his art and he learned not to listen to bullies." "We liked the main boy and his family." "There were both put downs and put ups. It showed us how put ups help people." The kids enjoyed the animated version of a familiar author's work. It added to their ability to appreciate the book format." All the children loved the music and felt it added to the feeling of the story. "It got me to think about how families treat each another. It made me think about not giving up on things I like to do." Without variation - all the kids loved this! They learned from it, reflected on it personally and carried it with them when the review time was over - who could ask for more?!

Love this! The storyline is clear, touching and beautifully illustrated and animated. The simplicity of the text is honored n the video while still being quite engaging. Shows wonderfully how words can cut down or build up in a way children can relate to. Both positive and negative social interactions are modeled, however, it is clear which is which. No negative or hurtful characters are elevated to hero but the over comer is honored. Very simple without being patronizing or overly simplified. It shows how children can be hurt and how they can be healed. Music is beautifully integrated ad appropriate to the mood of the book. Very good for discussion and further author study. The production value is excellent, honoring the original text, its message and its audience. It fosters personal competence, encourages children to handle peer pressure, even as a very young person. It promoted positive friendships and models how important words are to relationships. Excellent author who has more to offer.

Gold Award, KIDS FIRST! Best 2009. With a little encouragement from his sister, Ramon discovers that creativity is about a lot more than getting things "right." Combining the sparseness of fable with the potency of parable, the creator of "The Dot" shines a bright beam of light on the need to kindle and tend our creative flames.