Tag Archives: middle-grade

I Did Not Know That explores feelings or social interactions children will experience at some point but may not understand how to handle them. Or, they’ve mishandled situations and need guidance on better handling them. For instance, in the first chapter, Sofia comes face to face with a deer on a walking trail. She very frankly tells the deer they are in her way. Like all the other animals in the story, the deer speaks to her. This wild animal kept a cool head and said, “You don’t always have to remove things that are in your way. Did you know that sometimes you can walk around them?” Sofia claimed she didn’t know that. Young kids might not know that either. They might ask a person to move in a not-so-pleasant tone. 

As Sofia continues her journey, she meets more animals who give her sound advice and food for thought. Sofia and readers will learn why bullfrogs croak so loudly. They will learn from a bushy-tail squirrel that it’s okay to cry. Accidents will happen; don’t lose your temper when they do. Losing your temper hurts another person’s feelings and solves nothing. It typically escalates a bad situation. Instead, choose forgiveness. It has a better effect than angry words and actions.  

Sofia returns to the forest over the years, meeting new friends and learning valuable life lessons. One day, a small brown horse notices Sofia doesn’t look happy kicking her soccer ball around. They asked her what’s wrong. Sofia is mad at herself for missing a ball, causing her team to lose the game. Society puts too much pressure on people, especially kids, to win. Peyton, the horse, tells Sofia she is good enough just the way she is. Parents, coaches, and educators should always encourage kids to enjoy life and not make themselves miserable, striving for perfection. Remind them it’s not important if you win or lose but how you play the game!

Sofia meets one more animal before we flash forward a few years to see Sofia return to the forest as an adult. Her first meet-up was with a big, black spider. I bet kids will have strong views on whether they’d stop to speak to the arachnid. For me, the answer is a hard NO. But I’m glad Sofia was braver than me because she had an insightful talk with Caroline about feeling jealous of her best friend. You’ll have to grab the book to hear Caroline’s helpful advice and Sofia’s wise words for the two bickering crows. 

Life moves too quickly and so does this book. I wish it had another nine chapters. Why? Because I see children welcoming, absorbing, and then using the advice from the animals and arachnid more readily than if an adult sat them down and said what they should have done after the fact. 

After Sofia meets one more forest animal (name withheld on purpose), kids learn to draw Ethan, the squirrel, by following 10 simple moves. The end credits also feature multiple discussion questions. A few ask readers to recall what they read or flip back and look for an object. 

I Did Not Know That guides children through simple dialogue on handling many emotions/feelings. The sketches were cute too, even the (gulp) spider. The only thing this book needed was names for all the animals. Sofia asked a few, but not all. Why? Besides that one small detail, this story was fantastic and worth four stars. 

I recommend sharing this quick read with preschoolers and elementary school children. Let’s raise children to be kind, treat others with respect, love themselves, be happy with who they are, and realize that it’s okay not to be okay.