Albertine's Got Talent!

by Shena Power, Madeleine Valentine (Illustrator), Madeline Valentine

Albertine’s mother and father and brother all have special talents. Her mom sews up new outfits for dolls and superheroes in minutes. Her dad grows award-winning vegetables. Her brother Sam is a top-notch soccer player. But Albertine doesn’t have a special talent—yet.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2010

Reviews

[Kristen]

Her mom is an accomplished seamstress, her dad is an expert gardener, and her brother is a budding soccer star. "But Albertine mostly hung around." Her parents enroll her in swim classes, gymnastics, woodworking, hoping to help her find her "thing". Turns out, her gift is being silly and acting out for a grumpy old aunt all the trials she went through trying to figure out where her talent lies. In a time when many kids are over-scheduled with classes and activities, not excelling at something seems to equal not having any worth. I'm glad that Albertine found her "thing" in the end, but I'm also a believer in letting kids just be.

[Jane Maple]

Albertine's mom was good at sewing, her dad was good at growing vegetables and her brother was good at soccer but Albertine was still trying to figure out what she was good at. Her mother tries to find out by taking her to gymnastic lessons, swimming lessons, woodworking lessons, but in all activities she failed. On Sunday Great-Aunt Sophie was suppose to come for tea and she never smiled the family tried to think of a way to entertain her using their talents, but nothing worked. But Albertine had the idea of putting on a show and showing off the many ways that she had failed that week which causes Aunt Sophie to laugh. Finally Albertine has found her talent.

[Christian Houseworth]

Albertine’s Got Talent is a great book about a girl named Albertine who comes from a talented family, but she believes she has no talent. Her parents decide to take her to different classes such as swimming and wood working to find out what she’s good at. None of these classes were her “thing”. Eventually, Albertine realizes that acting is her talent when she performs a show for her great aunt. As a teacher, I would use this book to teach repetition to my students. For example, every time Albertine’s parents take her to a new class the author writes, “you’ll love it” “but” and “never mind, this is obviously not your thing”. I think that this will help students to write particular pieces like poems because this story has rhythm. I also think that this book is a great book to get students thinking about times in their life where they didn’t know what their talents were, or to get students to write about their talents. This book is a great book that children can connect to.

[Sarah BT]

Albertine's Got Talent is a very funny picture book. And I will admit, I loved it because how often do you get to read the word "wonky" in picture books? So yes, major points there!


Albertine's family keep suggesting new hobbies that might develop into Albertine's talent. She tries gym class, swimming and woodworking, all with disastrous results. But Albertine learns her talent and discovers it on her own and learns that yes, she is good at some things!


The illustrations are a muted pastel color and I would have liked them to be a bit brighter-I thought they were a bit bland. But the story is fun and it would make a great read-aloud, especially for kids wondering what their special talent may be.

[Samantha Hagler]

Albertine is a young girl who isn't much good at anything, so she thinks. Her mom is good at sewing, her dad is good at gardening, and her brother is a soccer star. But Albertine just didn't have any special talent. One day, her grumpy Great Aunt Sophie came to visit and no one knew how they were going to entertain her. But Albertine had just the plan. She put on a show and Great Aunt Sophie loved it and laughed like she never have before!

This book can be very inspiring for young students who may not play a sport, sing, or have any one special talent that they think they are good at. This book helps kids realize that

[Dolly]

This is a good story about finding your place in the world, the talent, hobby or interest that helps define who you are. I love that Albertine has the ability to try a bunch of different things in order to find where her interests lie. I was able to do the same, trying a bunch of activities when I was young. And while I had to complete the lesson, season, or project I started, my parents did not make me pursue interests that I did not like. We've done the same for our girls, although they haven't tried too many things yet, and usually only one at a time.

[Chelsea Hall]

Everyone in Albertine's family had a special talent. Her mom was great with the sewing machine. Her dad had a passion for vegetables and planted prize winning veggies. Her brother was a soccer star. Albertine did not have a special talent. WIth her parents' help, Albertine begins to explore different activities to uncover her special talent, but nothing seems to click. When Great Aunt Sophie comes for a visit, Albertine is going to try one last thing to see if it is her special talent. Read Albertine's Talent by Shena Power to see if Albertine will discover what makes her special.

[Tam]

Neither of my boys (ages 4 & 8) really liked this book.

Albertine feels left out because her mom, dad, and brother are talented and she doesn't think she is. Her parents try to find her talents by taking her to gym club, swimming lessons, and a woodworking class but she doesn't do well in any of them.

When her great-aunt Sophie came for a visit, Albertine put on a play and all the parts were played by Albertine. Sophie laughed and laughed and Albertine discovered her talent was acting.

[Davina]

Everyone else in her family has a talent--except for Albertine. She tries to be a gymnast, a swimmer, and even a woodworker, but none of those fit. But when Albertine's stern and grumpy Great Aunt Sophie comes to visit, Albertine entertains her by acting out her recent talent searching failures...which cracks the stony shell of Great Aunt Sophie. Turns out Albertine has a talent after all.

[Mary Ann]

Everyone in the family has a fantastic talent, except Albertine. The family is determined to find something in which Albertine excels. When Great-Aunt Sophie comes to visit Albertine is able to crack Great-Aunt Sophie’s rigid façade by reenacting all the disasters Albertine encountered while searching for her special gift.

[Jeanne Mcpeak]

Even though everyone in her family has a unique talent, Albertine doesn't seem to have any talent in particular. At the end of the book Albertine finds that even though gymnastics, swimming, and woodworking might not be her thing, she has the special talent of being able to make others laugh. This cute book shows young readers that everybody has something special to share with the world!

[Angela]

This was a very cute book but it got monotonous after a few pages. This is a great story about a girl named Albertine who discovers her talent. Coming from a family where everybody is good at something can be difficult, but kids need to discover that there is something special about each of them. Overall, this was a very cute book with a great life lesson.

[Tina B]

after her parents put her through one unsuccessful class after another, Albertine finds her own special talent

[Elisabeth]

I love little Albertine - we are cut from the same cloth...Gym, swimming and wood working are not my things either but just like her - hamming it up is!

[Savannah]

A good book thats awesome for helping students to see the special talents within themselves even when on the surface it may seem like their isn't any.

[Nancy Jo Lambert]

I am going to review this one on my blog I think...

[Maureen Schlosser]

This is an adorable story about finding your talents. Great pairing with "The OK Book" and "Jack's Talent".

[Danielle]

Pretty darn cute. I think kids could relate to this one about everybody else having found their special talent except, it feels, like you.

[Ruth]

can use in counseling for self esteem and to talk about trying different coping skills