Most people

The simple text of this gentle, well-meaning picture-book explores the idea that most people in the world are good - honest, kind, and willing to help those in need. The accompanying artwork depicts a diverse range of people doing good things for one another...

Most People is a book with its heart

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very much in the right place. It was written, according to Michael Leannah's brief author note, to reassure young children, who are constantly bombarded with news stories about terrible crimes and other frightening events, that the nature of the world's people is essentially good. While I do agree with that idea, and think that a book like this could be most useful, in seeking to redress the imbalance of attention, in our news media and in ourselves, between the good and the bad in the people around us, there were some moments here where I felt that the narrative slipped up a bit. Chief amongst them, as other reviewers have noted, is the passage in which the author maintains that most people (AKA: most good people) like to smile, and that they look better doing so. There are many people of good will, people who are kindly disposed to others, that don't have effusive, bubbly personalities, and whose natural facial expression is unsmiling. This is perfectly fine, in my view, and I think there is something a little misguided about trying to cast an entire personality type as the opposite of "good," and imply (however indirectly) that there is something harmful about being either unhappy, or simply more emotionally reserved. We should be attempting to teach children about the distinction between appearance and reality, and the importance of looking beneath the surface, rather than encouraging them to think that there is something harmful in not conforming to a particular facial expression.

Leaving that issue aside, I found this an enjoyable and heartwarming book. It is clearly didactic, and wears its purpose on its sleeve, but that's OK. The artwork is appealing, and depicts a nice range of people. With the proviso that parents and educators be aware of that one problematic passage, I would recommend Most People to anyone looking for children's books that encourage a positive attitude about humanity, and a trust in the goodness of those around us.

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I'm torn about this book. I love the overall idea of the message. I love the idea of being reassuring to kids, and I don't think it's wrong -- I think most people do want to be helpful and happy and all. I love the diversity in the illustrations, too.

What I have a hard time with is this line:
"A

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person who is frowning and mad, or sad, or mean is like a sour grape in a bunch of sweet grapes"

because to me that reads as a dismissal of real feelings. In fact, I think that's what troubles me about the whole book. Yes, there are a lot of angry and sad people in the world. There is a lot of hate and violence and horrible things, and we all need hope for and work towards better times. But I think a lot of those immense feelings are justified, and one of the causes of all the bad stuff in the world is that we don't talk about things that make us uncomfortable, and we don't confront things that are bad. For me, this book is a great try that fell down really hard about halfway through. Am I overthinking it? Yep. Is it worth looking at? Yep. Would I recommend it? Probably not.

If you want to check out a book that deals with some of the same themes, try Daddy, There's a Noise Outside by Kenneth Braswell.

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