*Review* Bobby and His Hobby by Shlomo Goldman

 Genre: Children's 3-6 years

Published: November 30, 2023

Pages: 24

One day an enormous elephant came to visit the little elephant kindergarten. Reggie, the baby elephant, had a great scare, and Bobby the elephant laughed at him and called him a Scare-apahnt. What was Bobby hiding behind his mockery? How did the other little elephants at the kindergarten react to frightened Reggie and to Bobby mocking him? This is an award-winning story about bullying, freindship and empathy, written in rhyme and filled with abundant wordplay.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This was a rhyming story about an elephant who gives all of his friends mean nicknames, which is something I can somewhat relate to (my sister is in my phone as Teefus McSlutface and my husband is Hubbymuffin McButtface). One day Bobby's friends confront him about the nicknames he's given them and they learn why he gave them such mean nicknames. Instead of ostracizing him from the group, they treat him with kindness and understanding and he realizes the error of his ways and changes things. 

I think I might struggle reading this book more than a time or two, because it certainly has the potential to make me feel guilty for the way I treat my family, but the message is absolutely stellar, and maybe if I'd had a book like this when I was younger, I would be a better person now. The illustrations were fairly simple, but effective at showing the story. 

Overall I give Bobby and His Hobby 4.0834 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

I live in Jerusalem and work in academia, but my fatherhood, the birth of my first child lately, inspired me, filled me with excitement, and motivated me to write stories for children. People can learn from stories, children included, and I want my stories to deliver a message of virtue through storytelling and fun reading for kids. My first English children’s book on Amazon, ‘Mick and the Big Bone’, is about enjoying what you have and won the Beach Book Festival Award for the best Children's Book for 2023. My second book, 'Bobby and His Hobby', is about empathy and friendship and won the Titan Books Award.