Rhinos Don't Cry

Product Information

You might think you can guess what happens next, and what you guessed is quite possibly right. But there’s a surprise twist as well, one that made me laugh out loud! Thanks to Bee at Kaleidoscopic Tours for organising this tour and to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book. An ex-teacher, Mark Grist is now a multi-award-winning poet and international battle rapper with over 40 million views for his poetry & rap videos online. He has been honoured in two categories at the Webby Awards, won two Lovie Awards for his poetry online and toured hundreds of schools around the world. Recently, Mark’s work has appeared on BBC1, ITV, BBC Teach, Channel 4 and BBC 6 music.

This book is about expressing your feelings, and explains in simple language, using a lovely character why it’s important. These are the healthy lessons children need. The message might be a serious one but the book has a few funny moments as well. I am sure kids will laugh aloud at some of the antics in the second half. The illustrations are spot on and perfect for the book and they really help bring the story to life – I know this was a massive hit with her as she has already asked if we can read the book again at bedtime tonight! My 5 year old daughter is addicted to reading at the moment and she absolutely loved this story about Milo! She has been pushing herself and it is books like this one that are encouraging her more and as a parent it is the kind of book that helps raise the topics of feelings and emotions tooI loved sharing this book with my class, of 5, 6 and 7-year-olds, as it sparked a long conversation about how we are all allowed to cry. We also talked about how, over time, our options can change and we can see how wrong we were in the past. The sad picture on the front drew me to the book before I had even read the title. The bright, engaging pictures make it a book your young one will want to read again and again. I just loved this story, written in simple text but speaking such volumes. I initially assumed that the theme would be about how boys don’t cry, but the book expands this concept and depicts how what screen icons say influences their young fans to follow their words blindly. Thus the content hits at a dual level, with both lessons being equally important. The story was well written and had a lovely flow to the story, the writing style worked really well, it was at the perfect pace and she loved that she could read it to me.

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) and NetGalley for the DRC of “Rhinos Don't Cry”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. I enjoyed the rhyming storytelling, found it energetic and bouncy, and think it’s a good book for young children learning to read or for story time. Dapo Adeola, Tracy Darnton, Joseph Coelho and Chitra Soundar are among the 19 authors and illustrators longlisted for the Inclusive Books for Child... Crying is quite a healthy habit, and many emotional issues that kids (especially boys) have is because they have always been told to suppress their emotions. This book shatters that myth, and shows how it is perfectly okay to cry and express your honest emotions. This energetic and engaging rhyming story is the first in a series of books highlighting the importance of children expressing their feelings.Definitely recommended in homes as well as in schools. It’s the perfect way of conveying a valuable message in a memorable and fun way. The writing level suits ages 3-6. I received this at school to review and so had a reading session with my KS2 book review team to gather their opinions. Then 2 of them went to read in with some KS1 children.