Barnicle is Bored by Jonathan Fenske is a perfect illustration of the concepts of both empathy and "the grass is always greener". In this book, part of a series it seems, we have Barnicle who is fastened to a dock on the shore as many barnacles are.
We learn that he does not necessarily find his life exciting enough and complains about how much better he imagines the life of a neighbor, a fish, is. With no actual knowledge of the fish's daily life or life in general for that matter, Barnacle passes judgment and grouses about how easy the fish has it.
He soon finds out that his life might not be as bad as it seems.
While some may argue that this could teach children to settle for what they have and thus lower any drive to better themselves or to be blind to perceived privilege, I disagree. What this shows, in a cute and funny way, is that you can't pass judgment on anyone's behavior, life, attitudes, etc. without knowing them and what they are or have been going through.
It's a great message wrapped up in a cute story.
I've read this book to a 1st-grade class. Their reactions were wonderful and slightly unexpected. They laughed at the beginning, saw the big moment coming, were anxious, were shocked by the turning point, and laughed by the end. Well worth it.
Illustrations: 5/5
Concept: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Price: 5/5
Author/Illustrator: Jonathan Fenske
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 40
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545865042
ISBN-13: 978-0545865043
Date: 2016
Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (May 10, 2016)
Price: $11.49 (at the time of this post)
Where to buy: Amazon
