Review of Roxy the Raccoon by Alice Reeves

Roxy the Raccoon

Roxy lives in the forest with her three best friends, who she loves to visit and play games with. Roxy is in a wheelchair, so sometimes it is harder for her to go to the same places and play the same games as the other animals. Roxy and her friends realise that by making a few small changes and working together, they can make the forest a better place for everyone. Roxy teaches us that there are bunches of ways to be more inclusive of those who have a disability so that everyone can join in.

Part of the Truth & Tails series, which aims to eliminate prejudices and encourage acceptance in young children aged 4-8, the story of Roxy and her friends is accompanied by hand-drawn, watercolour illustrations.

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**My thoughts**

Roxy the Raccoon has a lot of friends who want to spend time with her and include her in their fun. But she is in a wheelchair, so it isn't possible for her to do so. They feel bad about not thinking about making accommodations for her and then work together to find ways to include her.

I found it to have a great message about inclusion and being sensitive to special needs. You cannot change the person to fit the activity, but you can adapt the environment to accommodate the person. That's pretty much the foundation of my Montessori background.

In the back of the book are suggested questions for teachers to use at a circle time for conversation. They can be adapted to fit the age level of your students. And parents reading this book at home could also use these for conversations with their children.

The watercolor illustrations are cute for the most part, though I will say I am not usually a fan of unrealistic depictions of animals, such as a chipmunk, in a book that is supposed to be talking about real life issues. Some of the scale seems a bit off and the wheelchair looks like something someone made back in the early 1900s at home. I don't think many children will necessarily notice these things, though. But they could also provide for further conversations with the children. I think the message of the story far outweighs these.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.