Product Description

Sally Sanders is good at everything she does, or so it seems. Secretly she is afraid that if she can't do something well, or be the best, she will feel like a failure. She is scared that she is not "good enough." As a perfectionist, hitting the wrong note at a piano recital, or not making the soccer team feels like the end of the world!Gradually, through the help of her teachers and mother, Sally learns to have fun and not worry so much about being the best. She realizes that making mistakes is a part of learning, and that doing her best is good enough.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51795 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 48 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781433803802
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 3–5—Sally Sanders exhibits many of the classic symptoms of a perfectionist: she feels embarrassed when she makes minor mistakes, she procrastinates, she has a domineering attitude, and so on. This chapter book follows her from music recital to gym class and school play. Adults around Sally are saccharine and unrealistic, constantly building her up and reassuring her that mistakes are a part of everyday life-to the point of tedium. The story lacks cohesion and reads like a string of examples of perfectionist behavior. The language is dull, the message is heavy-handed, the time line is inconsistent, and the characters are underdeveloped. An introductory note outlines the story and aims to help the perfectionist child. Chapters begin with a full-page illustration, and smaller pictures are interspersed throughout. The bright cartoon watercolors will appeal to younger readers, but as a whole the book's audience is limited.—Laura Butler, Mount Laurel Library, NJ
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About the Author
In addition to being a school psychologist, Ellen Flanagan Burns is a licensed massage therapist. She is a strong supporter of cognitive-based interventions and believes that bibliotherapy with children is extremely powerful. She has a particular interest in helping children with anxiety-related issues because she has worked with many children suffering from them and has dealt with perfectionism personally and professionally. She lives in Newark, Delaware with her family. Erica Pelton Villnave's involvement in children's literature began at The Maryland Institute College of Art where she studied illustration.

Customer Reviews

A Good Start to Dealing With Perfectionism
This book does a good job of defining extreme perfectionism in a short, confortable story. The main character is hard for kids to relate to because she is an extreme example, but the book is a good start to understanding what perfectionism is. We followed it with the book What to Do When Good Enough Isn't Good Enough: The Real Deal on Perfectionism: A Guide For Kids which goes further to give kids strategies for dealing with their issues.

Directly addresses a very common psychological problem among both kids and adults - the compulsion to be perfect
Though written for young people ages 8-12 (grades 3-6), Nobody's Perfect: A Story for Children About Perfectionism is more than a storybook; it directly addresses a very common psychological problem among both kids and adults - the compulsion to be perfect. Young Sally Sanders feels like a failure if she can't be the best; as a result she procrastinates, avoids new experiences, and relentlessly compares herself to other. Her teachers and mother try to help her overcome her inferiority complex, and she gradually learns the fun of relaxing and trying out new things without worrying so much about being the best. "Sally was surprised to hear her mom say that it was important to work hard and have fun... 'But I might not be any good at soccer,' Sally added. It was the real reason she didn't sign up. She felt embarrassed to admit that she might not be good at something... 'That's okay,' Mrs. Sanders assured her. 'Imagine all the fun you'll miss if you let that stop you.'" The thoughtful handling of an important real-life issue makes Nobody's Perfect highly recommended, and an absolute must-have for children's grade school and public library collections. Nobody's Perfect is also available in a paperback edition.