Lacey Walker, Nonstop Talker

It's Alright

The art is cute and the premise has some promise, but I'm not really sure I like how the message is delivered.

Before I developed social anxiety as a teen, I was an extremely talkative and curious child. My parents nurtured this and taught me that sometimes it's appropriate to stop talking but it's never okay for someone to shut you out and refuse to listen. This book tries to get at least half of that point across, but without enough nuance to succeed. Instead of teaching a lesson about WHEN it's inappropriate to blather on and on, it has the titular character lose her voice for an entire day because she talked so much. It didn't show anyone caring what she had to say or even attempting to listen to her, only being fed up that she talked so much. Then, when she lost her voice, nobody seemed to even care that she was mopey and sad - or even that she'd stopped talking. All they noticed was that she suddenly listened to their selfish selves and did things without stopping to talk. This miraculously teaches her to stop and listen sometimes, and then everyone is happy - including her.

To me, there isn't enough nuance for this to provide a life lesson and the lessons it may teach a kid aren't great. I wouldn't want a child in my care to fear they'll lose their voice from talking or think that they can't enjoy life without shutting up entirely. Those aren't the lessons this book intends to teach, but I could see it hurting a small child's feelings or scaring them all the same. As such, I wouldn't personally recommend this book.