Review: I Love People by Francoize Boucher

I Love People by Francoize Boucher.

Kane Miller
Publication Date: September 2011
List Price: $14.99
ISBN-13: 9781610670128

Review: Who are people? Who are not? After crossing out all the phrases that are not people, the reader is left with "You, bored to death; a dead house plant; and a huge dead rat" epitomizing the disadvantage of isolation. This fun activity along with nearly 100 more is from I Love People - an activity book by Francoize Boucher that teaches readers how to love all people - including those that might be from another planet!

According to the author, in order to read I Love People, every reader needs to have the following on hand: "a very big heart, a full pencil case, and a taste for adventure." Readers embark on a journey "with twists and turns - to the land of love and friendship." This activity book is filled with eye-appealing activities written with kids in mind that focus on friendship, stress, valuing yourself, etiquette, and looking for the best in people. The activities would not only be great fun for any 8-12 year old child, but they would also be an excellent resource for teachers and counselors of that age group.

One example of how I Love People could be used in a classroom setting is the "Who would you like to be friends with?" section. Six characters are presented with varying appearance, interests, intelligence and attitudes. The ultimate goal is to teach readers how appearances can be deceptive and that friends should be picked for who they are instead of what they look like. Countless other pages can yield thought-provoking discussions as well. But most importantly, I Love People is a fun book filled with wisdom under the disguise of humor. Only on a few occasions did I find myself questioning the value of a few pages. For example, on the page, "What about You? What do you do for other people?" kids are instructed to make a list following some of the given examples. One example is "I punched . . . ." The moral at the end of the page is, "You see! All these people would be really sad if you weren't around." It seems unlikely that someone you punched would miss you. Certainly this was intended as humor, but developmentally, some children may not understand the humor. Nonetheless, I Love People does exactly what it sets out to do - it stimulates thinking, creates a few laughs, jumpstarts imagination, and helps kids to become the best person they can be. Kids will read and write . . . . and ultimate learn a great deal about themselves and the people all around them.

Review written by Margo Nauert (6th grade teacher).

We would like to thank Kane Miller for providing a copy of I Love People for this review.

Have you read I Love People? How would you rate it?