The Smile Shop

By Author / Illustrator

Satoshi Kitamura

Genre

Friends and family

Age range(s)

Publisher

Scallywag Press

ISBN

9781912650217

Format

Hardback

Published

01-08-2020

Synopsis

Award-winning artist Satoshi Kitamura delivers the powerful message that kindness is more important than money. Nominated for the Greenaway Medal 2021.

Celebrate the power of a smile in this deceptively simple story set in a multi-ethnic market. A small boy is planning how to spend his first ever pocket money when disaster strikes and he's left with only one coin. His day seems to be ruined until he sees a Smile Shop. In a surprise ending, the world is put to rights and suddenly the whole world is smiling again!

Reviews

What a brilliantly memorable book! This story is incredibly captivating, thoroughly enjoyable to read aloud and has a fantastic moral - a sure new favourite of mine. The Smile Shop will put a smile on your face as you see the power of a simple smile and the value of acts of kindness.

Diversity in books is incredibly important and this black, Asian, ethnic minority (BAME) book based in Japan is a must-have for every book shelf. We see characters of varying nationalities as we travel through the busy market and enter different shops.

Satoshi Kitamura takes us on a journey through the streets of a busy market in Japan as we follow a young boy who is going to spend his pocket money for the first time - an experience many of us can relate to and remember - immediately connecting us to and investing us in the story.

The story is told through direct speech as we read the boy's thoughts in first-person narrative. He ponders greatly as he embarks on making his big decision. What will he spend his first ever collection of coins on? Just as he is about to make his decision, a youth on a skateboard knocks him over and his coins slip away down the drain - quite literally throwing his money down the drain! A smile is what he needs right now!

This story leaves us realising and remembering that money is not the root of all happiness and that there are some things in life which money can't buy. A thought-provoking, important read for the youngest and oldest of us!

Picture book / Ages 4+ / Reviewed by Jessica Bunney, teacher