Step Forward with Empathy. (Step Forward!). Shannon Welbourn. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc., & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-2827-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2786-6 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1831-8 (html). Subject Heading: Empathy-Juvenile literature. Grades 2-5 / Ages 7-10. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	Step Forward with Grit. (Step Forward!). Shannon Welbourn. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc., & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-2790-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2767-5 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1825-7 (html). Subject Headings: Resilience (Personality trait)-Juvenile literature. Persistence-Juvenile literature. Grades 2-5 / Ages 7-10. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	Step Forward with Responsible Decision-Making. (Step Forward!). Shannon Welbourn. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc., & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-2820-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2769-9 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1827-1 (html). Subject Heading: Decision making-Juvenile literature. Grades 2-5 / Ages 7-10. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	Step Forward with Problem Solving. (Step Forward!). Shannon Welbourn. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc., & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-2808-5 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2768-2 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1826-4 (html). Subject Heading: Problem solving-Juvenile literature. Grades 2-5 / Ages 7-10. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	Step Forward with Curiosity. (Step Forward!). Shannon Welbourn. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc., & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-2824-5 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2782-8 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1829-5 (html). Subject Heading: Curiosity-Juvenile literature. Grades 2-5 / Ages 7-10. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	Step Forward with Gratitude. (Step Forward!). Shannon Welbourn. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc., & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-2826-9 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2784-2 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1830-1 (html). Subject Heading: Gratitude-Juvenile literature. Grades 2-5 / Ages 7-10. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	Step Forward with Optimism. (Step Forward!). Reagan Miller. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc., & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-2822-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2780-4 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1828-8 (html). Subject Heading: Optimism-Juvenile literature. Grades 2-5 / Ages 7-10. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4
	Step Forward with Integrity. (Step Forward!). Shannon Welbourn. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2017. 24 pp., pbk., hc., & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $22.95 (RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-2828-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2788-0 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-1832-5 (html). Subject Heading: Integrity-Juvenile literature. Grades 2-5 / Ages 7-10. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4

excerpt:

Expressing empathy at home can help you build strong relationships with each member of your family.

It's important for family members to feel that they are supported by each other. Try to show your support for your family by understanding their feelings. When all members of a family express empathy, they avoid conflict at home. (From Step Forward with Empathy)

Crabtree's "Step Forward" series aims to support the teaching of positive social and emotional behaviours, to foster best practices in relationships and encourage tenacity in skill development. The hope is that children who are confident with themselves, their peers and their families will be motivated to stay the course through their teen years and become successful, well-adjusted adults. Each title in the series can be put to good use in teaching units about social-emotional issues, especially in Grades 2-3.

      The series has a consistent format – 24 pages, a table of contents and text on a tastefully designed white background with colour trim. Two-page chapters discuss, in straightforward language, the definition of the social behavior and its importance. Subsequent chapters then provide a biography of an individual who exemplifies the behaviour. The individuals range from singer Taylor Swift, who is lauded in Step Forward with Gratitude for personally keeping in touch with her many fans, as well as ordinary children who do extraordinary things, considering their young age, such as eight-year-old Jayda Smith-Atkins did when she organized an innovative way to distribute warm clothes to homeless people in her community of Halifax (Step Forward with Empathy). Further chapters outline how children can practice these behaviours at home, at school and in the community. Another biography supports this message, and the final chapters discuss how to overcome challenges to these behaviours and encourage positive practices among their peers:

When you face a problem...

1. Think positively. Every problem can be solved with time...
2. Ask yourself if you have ever faced a similar problem in the past…
3. Break down your problem into smaller parts....(from Step Forward with Problem Solving)

     Photographs of children of all ages engaged in activities appropriate to the topic are found on each page, along with a caption related to the chapter heading. Children in today's classrooms will see themselves reflected in these books. Bright colour photographs show children of every skin colour, in different manners of dress as well as in different types of family situations, including same-sex families. Children reading these books independently will certainly feel drawn into the ideas the text presents.

      A glossary at the end of the book explains words bolded in the body of the text, but this is more window-dressing than useful. The words should be defined in place for a young reader to absorb the meaning. A brief index completes the standard formatting.

      As is typical with Crabtree books, several of these topics could be combined into one volume, thereby saving schools a lot of money. That said, any of these titles could be purchased singly and would be of use in a classroom situation. Young readers curled up on their own will also find the writing accessible and the content motivating.

Recommended.

Harriet Zaidman is a teacher-librarian in Winnipeg, MB.

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