David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon

Shannon, D.  (2002).  David Gets in Trouble.  The Blue Sky Press.  Unpaged, $15.95.

David is constantly getting in trouble, and he's always coming up with excuses for why it's not his fault.  Will his excuses work?  Will he learn to take responsibility for his actions and decisions?

David does many things that get him in trouble, but it is usually an accident and not his fault, so he makes every excuse he knows to avoid getting in trouble, but this does not always work.  In the end, he takes responsibility for what he does and apologizes to his parents and tells them that he loves them, and they forgive him and tell him that they love him too. 

I thought this was a really cute book.  It reminded me of when I was a little kid.  The pages on this book have simple sentences written as though a first grader wrote them.  The pictures are brightly colored.  Children would be able to relate to David because they have probably done some of the same mischievous things that he has done.  In the end, they can also learn that they should take responsibility for what they have done.  They can also learn that their parents will be there for them and love them unconditionally.  David Shannon is an award-winning author and illustrator.  His book, The Rain Came Down, won the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ Golden Kite Award.  The first in the David series, No, David! is a Caldecott Honor Book.  Watch a video interview of the author by visiting the following website:  http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/shannon.  The title refers to what happened in the story...David got in trouble and how the situation was handled.

David Shannon