As parents, we want to protect our kids from anything that will hurt them. But there comes a time when they will be away from us and we can't protect them from the hurts of the world. Little TJ is so excited about all of the friends she will be making at her new school, but all she seems to make is a "bully." She talks to her beloved grandmother about it and her grandmother suggests she can "catch more bees with honey." TJ takes her advice, and soon realizes that the bully just needed someone to give him a chance.

A great book for young elementary aged children to learn how to navigate school and friendships. Cute, colorful, eye-catching illustrations. Loved it!

Such a cute book that explains bullying in an age appropriate way and teaches kids to always be nice to everyone. It’s a lot like many of the book out there but I don’t think there can ever be too many books showcasing kindness as the message. The illustrations are bright and vibrant and definitely my favorite part!

You Can Be a Good Friend is a sweet heartfelt story about making friends and being yourself. A perfect story to read before starting school or a new activity. This would be a great addition to first week of school curriculum plans for early elementary school. The illustrations are beautiful and really capture the tone of the story. The additional suggestions at the end of the story ate also helpful for parents/teachers looking to have deeper and more in depth conversations about bullying and making friends.

A good picture book about overcoming bullying, kindness and reaching out to make new friends.
Fab vibrant illustrations too

I'm a fan of Taraji P. Henson, but as it goes with many actor/musician crossovers into children's books, there are better ones out there. I'm sure the parents who are fans of hers will reach for it, but I definitely think there are more interesting ones about rising above bullying. It was a sweet story and I have no complaints, but it isn't one that I consider a must-read.

Sends a great message to our children about how to be a kind person admits everything we are going through. The beautiful illustrations capture the essence of the book wonderfully.

It was a cute book, but a lot like most children's books out there already. The illustrations were cute and I love the bright, bold colors. Showing the use of technology for TJ to speak to her Grandma is right in line with today's youth.

Finding good friends and being a good friend are essential life skills. This book does a great job teaching kids about it in an entertaining way.

This is a great little book for kids! Especially good for children just going into school, starting at a new one, or dealing with a bully.

Well-known actress, Taraji P. Henson is the author of this one, with Paul Kellam the illustrator.

Lil TJ is about to start school and is very excited. At school, she encounters a boy, Beau, who doesn't seem to like her. He bumps her and then insults her, and he picks on her. Grandma advises TJ to be her sweet self and be nice to him. She does, and they make friends.

The dog is humorous. I think he's a Boston Terrier, but I'm not sure. I love the touch of TJ video chatting with Grandma Patsy on her tablet. Neat details in each picture! Pleasing to see all the shades of skin colors in the school!

Great note for adults at the end with practical advice if you think your child is being bullied.

Series or Standalone series based on "A Lil TJ Book" on the cover
Genre- children's fiction picture book
Target Age - 4-6 yr old
Will I read again? Yes
Recommended for? School libraries, kindergarten and first grade classrooms, parents
Who will like it most? Young children, but a lot of text and will need to be read aloud to most young childen.

Characters 5/5
Writing 5/5
Plot 5/5
Pacing 5/5
Unputdownability 5/5
Enjoyment 5/5
Cover 5/5

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Zonderkidz, as well as author Taraji P. Henson for providing me an e- book ARC of this so I could read it and give you my honest review.

I was interested to see what the amazing actor Taraji P. Henson came up with in this children’s picture book, and she delivered!

This has a very sweet message about being your authentic self, being kind and what to do about a bully. Lil TJ is excited to go to her first day of school, but a boy named Beau starts making loud, rude comments about everything she says or does. Luckily, TJ has her Grandma Patsy to help her figure out what to do!

The illustrations in here are beautiful, and I especially love Lil TJ’s cute little doggo! There’s a page at the end detailing steps to take if your child is being bullied, which I think any parent of a school-aged child will find helpful.

Look for this in June!

Thank you to NetGalley and Zonderkidz Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was a cute book and sweet with good lessons for children on how to be a good friend. I think it’s also relatable because every kid goes through the nerves of first day jitters and trying to make new friends. I like the illustrations.

There is a lot in this book that had potential and a lot that was good, but the story felt really disjointed in some ways. Almost like we needed another 10 pages to really get into how TJ goes from being a bright ray of sunshine to hiding her true self because of Beau's abuse and then back. I get that this is for young readers, so you don't want to draw things out, but I did feel like we needed a bit more of TJ being sad before she works out how to be true to herself.

I also didn't get how she could just suddenly begin drumming, and all the other kids can pick up instruments too. That part was useful in resolving the TJ-Beau conflict, but it felt out of place in the story. If the book had had TJ doing more band stuff before the recess event OR that the conflict resolves in games at recess, I feel it would have just worked better.

I am also not really clear on how TJ's grandmother's saying at the start of the book really links up to the rest of the story. Again, it just dropped out of nowhere in their phone call. I get how it is part of the lesson she learns. Just not why it was introduced the way it was.

The book got a 3 star for me (and not 2) because I did like the way it was illustrated and for the overall premise behind it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I was intrigued when I found out that Taraji P Henson wrote a children's book, This book was very cute. I think Tarai did a great job, and she should write more books for children in the future. I also thought the illustrations were very cute. I also enjoyed that this book was entertaining for children but also taught children lessons about being a good friend.
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Absolutely adorable. Such a cute and sweet kids book. Shows feelings about a new school and making new friends.

What a great story! I read this with my daughter and we both loved it and felt it very relevant. The pages were so colourful too it really made the story come to life. I’m sure we’ll be reading this a few times as she gets ready to start school.