Welcome Back! How has 2016 been treating you thus far? Good I hope.

Well, Can I Tell You a Secret? It’s not my secret, but it is a BIG secret.  A tiny frog, let’s call him Monty, has a HUGE fear. Unless he can conquer this fear he will lose out on a lot of fun with his pals. But he needs your help.

If you have been following KLR, you will recognize today’s creatives: Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant. This past February, this fabulous duo’s You Are (Not) Small won the 2015 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award!

The “Dr. Seuss Award” is given to the author and illustrator “of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers.” Specifically, Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant were “recognized for their literary and artistic achievements that demonstrate creativity and imagination to engage children in reading.” A mouthful for sure, but a wonderful mouthful. Congratulations Anna and Christopher.

Can I Tell You a Secret?
Written by Anna Kang
Illustrated by Christopher Weyant
Harper       5/31/2016
978-0-06-239684-6
40 pages           Age 4—8

“Pssst!
Yes, you.
I’m Monty.
And I have a BIG secret.
Do you want to know what it is?
Are you sure?
Okay . . .”
[inside jacket]

Review
Young Montague has a secret. Can you keep a secret? Good, because Monty really needs to tell someone this secret. Monty is a young frog, who . . . who is . . . who is afraid. Of what? Well, if you can really keep a secret he might tell you. And when he does tell you what he is afraid of, what will you do with his secret? If you have ever been afraid, Can I Tell You a Secret is the perfect picture book for you.

The illustrations have Monty—a green frog—speaking directly to the reader—and maybe the listener. Monty has expressive eyes, which easily show his fear and his desire to get the reader’s help. To keep the illusion of speaking with the reader, Monty is up-close in most spreads, with backgrounds that do not distract from the conversation.

Monty has a fear many young children must conquer, but for a frog, this is a HUGE fear. Once he tells you his secret, the responsibility for encouraging Monty to seek help rests with you. Young children will love the participatory part of Can I Tell You Secret. The story becomes twice as fun to read, especially to a child willing to play along.

Monty shares his clever ways of getting out of participating in the thing he fears. Kids will laugh and many will completely understand Monty’s situation. The thing is, Monty really wants to conquer his fear. When he dodges participating, he misses out on a lot of fun.

With summer, and winter vacations, comes the opportunity to swim. Swimming can be frightening to a young child who, in most cases, will find a pool deeper than they are tall. Monty faces his fear of water head on with his parent’s encouragement—and yours. Monty learns to trust, have faith in himself, and how to face his fear.

All of this secret keeping, trusting, encouraging, and then facing could leave the reader exhausted, but that will not happen. The ending has a extremely funny twist that will leave young children laughing and wanting to read Can I Tell You a Secret many times over. Those afraid to get into a pool may find comfort in Monty’s dilemma. Suit up and trust.

CAN I TELL YOU A SECRET? Text copyright © 2016 by Anna Kang. Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Christopher Weyant. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Harper, New York, NY.

Pre-Order* Can I Tell You Secret? at Amazon—Book Depository—IndieBound Books—Harper.
.          . *I’ll post a reminder this My.

Find Can I Tell You Secret? on Goodreads HERE.
Resources for Teachers can be found HERE.

Meet the author, Anna Kang, at her website:  http://www.annakang.com/
Twitter         @annakang27
Meet the illustrator, Christopher Weyant, at his website: http://christopherweyant.com/
Twitter         @chrisweyant05
Find more books at the Harper website:  http://www.harpercollins.com/
Twitter         @HarperChildrens
.       . HARPER is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing.
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Also by Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant
That’s (Not) Mine (reviewed here)
You Are (Not) Small (reviewed here)

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Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

CAN I TELL YOU A SECRET? by Anna Kang. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Christopher Weyant. Used by permission of Harper.

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Full Disclosure: Can I Tell You Secret? by Anna Kang & Christopher Weyant, and received from Harper, (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing), is in exchange NOT for a positive review, but for an HONEST review. The opinions expressed are my own and no one else’s. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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