All the Ways to be Smart: the beautifully illustrated international bestseller that celebrates the talents of every child

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In this cheerful exploration of all the nonstandard ways a person can be smart, the creators paint an expansive picture of intelligence that goes well beyond ‘being best/at spelling bees,/a tricky test.

For any child who has ever worried about being "smart", Australian author Bell and artist Colpoys offer an expansive, reassuring look at the many ways there are to be that way . She was a Senior Editor at Penguin Books Australia, where she worked with some of our country’s most beloved children’s book creators. I remember feeling so frustrated as a child because I wanted there to be more than one meaning of "smart".

Some of the ways highlighted in a pleasing rhyme include creativity, physical activities, music, emotional sensitivity, memorizing information, math, and traditional academic knowledge .

A needed reassurance that tests can’t measure everything, and that we need all kinds of kids to create a smart and inventive world. An earnest and charming book celebrating the joys of all the wonderful qualities that make children who they are, with a subtle and unique message that getting excellent grades is not what makes you smart. This is a fantastic book that has no room for judgement: smart refers to anything, and anyone can be smart.It’s highly likely every child who reads this book will find something in it that shows they too are smart. Some schools make a very big deal about this, because they want to appear better in comparisons with other schools. All the usual things were mentioned like being kind but the rest was a huge list of random things to justify the illustrations.

stars This was disappointing, the illustrations were really nice, very interesting, a lovely style and bright colours in a retro look, but the text was just a list of things that are ways to be smart.

This process has meant younger and younger children are expected to demonstrate these skills and behaviours, and we talk about "school readiness" with three and four year olds, at least in my sector. One of the most pivotal messages that children need to har and illustrated with a brilliant spectrum of colours that leap from the page and right into the heart. The purpose of this book is to boost self-esteem and let kids know they can be smart even if it's not in the conventional, academic sense. This heartwarming rhyming read will have your kids celebrating all of the things ― from being athletic to artistic and even empathetic or curious―that make them unique. This illustrated picture book is an ode the unique and wonderful qualities that make children who they are.