Kookabuk Shares His Shovel

by Kevin Howard, Jesse Howard

Welcome to The Kooky Adventures of My Friend Kookabuk, a wonderful collection of social stories created as a guide to help you and your special child approach new experiences and challenges in a positive and enriching way.

In this story, Emily helps Kookabuk learn how to share one of his most prized possessions. Most children are inherently very protective of their toys. While Kookabuk’s reluctance to share his green shovel is very typical, his reaction is elevated and prolonged. Fearful that Emily is confused and afraid to play with her son, Kookabuk’s mom steps in to guide their social interaction.

Genres: Childrens

44 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Kasey Cocoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one part aimed at a child and one part informational for a parent/guardian. Raising children is difficult enough as it is. Throw in a challenge, mine has PDD, and even the simplest situations can turn into a meltdown. The story provides the child a situation and how it can be remedied. The back of the short story contains additional ideas that can help prepare for challenges. I would have liked to have seen resources where a parent can go for additional help in raising our unique children. It's challenging enough to know your child is different but not every parent has the resources available locally or knows where to begin looking. Autism Spectrum disorders can receive support and information through Autism Speaks, which helped our family out greatly. Overall, this is a good start for a parent trying to navigate the challenges of a unique child and could assist with friends who aren't sure why you treat your child the way you do. I received and ARC through Smith Publicity, Inc. in exchange for an honest review.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was designed to help children with ASD and gives an insight in to what it can be like for them in some normal situations, in this case sharing. Emily sees her friend Kooky in the park but it doesn't go well at the start when she uses his green spade when they are playing in the sand box.

This is a good story about sharing which younger children don't always want to do (my daughter didn't want to share when she was younger. Whilst she is not neurodiverse, she is an only child so hadn't really had to do it before she started in the Reception class at Primary School and obviously went from having one of her own, to having to share things with 2-3 other children). I really liked the Sharing Poem at the start of the book.

The illustrations were different from most children's books I have read with the illustrations added to photographs - they were quite simple but they worked well with the story.

It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended!

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to read to and use with children with ASD. It is also a great book to use in schools and when training staff working with these children. The beginning of the book gives a brief introduction of the characters and has a poem that fits in with the skill being reinforced in the book. The end of the book gives a quick recap and "The Best of Help Tips" to dealing with an ASD child.

This book is about sharing. Kookabuk does not want to share his shovel and has a tantrum when his mother asks him to share with his friend Emily. Mother shares her shovel and dump truck with Emily to model the proper way to play. Kookabuk gradually sees how much fun they are having and joins in. He eventually shares his shovel with some gentle reminders from his mother and the use of a timer. The illustrations are cute and colourful with large characters on most pages.

Even though this book was written as a Social Story for children with ASD, it could be used with any child to teach the concept of sharing. I definitely think it should be in all classes with children having special needs as well as in all their family homes.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[jess ~has abandoned GR~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything about this book. The art is beautiful, and the story is educational to both the adult reading it and the child receiving the story. While the book is primarily about understanding Kookabuk's differences, the story reaffirms that Kookabuk still has a meaningful and fun-filled friendship with Emily, a neuro-typical child (a child without developmental disabilities.) I especially recommend this book to siblings of children with autism, or children who have recently befriended children with autism. This will be a great addition to a book kit I am building for the library called "My friend has autism."

I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Trully Sunee]

Emily and Kookabuk form a special bond. Patience, love, tolerance and learning what a person needs is emphasized in this book. The illustrations are very vivid and the best I have seen in a children's book! The message is clear and if having issues with a child sharing this book can be such an inspiration. What if we want to give solid morals to our children? This is a book that will keep everyone clear and pave a bright path. I am very grateful to have read such a meaningful book with pictures that can be remembered throughout the years!

[Virginia Winfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very nice story. Kookabuk and Emily are friends. Kookabuk doesn't always make friends easily because he has some learning problems. This book helps Kookabuk learn to share with Emily. I liked the illustrations also. I received this ebook from Smith publicity and Netgalley for a fair and honest opinion.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute little story about sharing. Two kids are in a sandbox and they want to use the shovel. At first Kookabuk doesn't want to share his shovel and becomes very upset. In the end he learns to share and the two continue their play in the sandbox.

[ʕᵔᴥᵔʔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't really care for the real world pictures combined with illustrations, but the illustrations and the story was nice. Good story about sharing, something my three year old needs to learn right now.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little story about sharing! I think it's a good story for little ones up to 1st grade. Illustrations were very nice; simple and colorful.

[Poongothai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good moral book about sharing with vivid illustrations