Bannie bear repeats a grade by Sue Stewart.
Lovingly crafted to support young children with learning difficulties like dyslexia, this beautiful tale helps parents and kids alike to navigate the challenges that come with school and embrace their differences.
A lovely little read. Loved illustrations. Great for little ones. 5,*.

This book is a wonderful addition to principal, classroom, and social worker libraries. It clearly illustrates how sometimes the gift of time is the very best gift that someone can be given, and it shows it in a non-threatening parallel way.

I did recommend to the publisher to not have the child called “stupid” by another kid. I would be more likely to share the book with a struggling child if that page were replaced with an insensitive question “why did you get the math wrong?” Or “why are you still reading those books?” or “why does your book not have many words?”.

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A HUGE THANK YOU to the author and the publisher. I am honored and humbled that the final version of this book will be updated based on my feedback. I can’t wait to get my hands on the physical book. It will help so many families. 🥰

This children's book tells the story of a little bear who struggles at school due to a learning disability. When he learns he will have to repeat a grade he is nervous at first but learns that sometimes working at your own pace means that you don't feel rushed, you can feel confident and you can make new friends. Through a comparison with a baby chick who takes a bit longer to hatch and grow, both Bannie and the reader learn that everyone learns at their own pace and that's ok.

As a teacher, I don't believe in holding young children back in most cases. The practice is becoming less and less common and I think that's a good thing. That being said, it still happens, and books like this one need to be written and shared. Children with disabilities often benefit from social stories, a simple text that explains a social situation positively and can be referred back to. I think this book could act as a social story, being reread by a family, preparing a child or normalizing the idea of repeating a grade. I would recommend this book to parents of young children with disabilities and school staff at schools where repeating a grade occurs. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a lovely well written story about a bear that needed a bit more time to learn what the other were learning and had to be kept back a year. This story is a wonderful tool for both students and parents to understand that it's okay to need the gift of time. A wonderful addition to all early years classroom libraries