Picture Book Review: Grown-Ups Never Do That by Davide Cali, illustrated by Benjamin Chaud

I will be sharing a few picture book reviews in the coming weeks as I have been fortunate enough to receive early copies of two upcoming releases, Catching Thoughts by Bonnie Clark and The Whatifs by Emily Kilgore. Both books deal with anxieties that kiddos face, a very important topic, especially given the current global pandemic.

I’ve been thinking about kiddos a lot lately and how difficult all of this must be for them to understand and to cope with. They had to end their school year early, they’ve had to be secluded from friends and relatives for weeks or months at a time, they are still restricted from some normal summer activities, and there is no definite answer about schools opening in the fall.

Now that bookstores and libraries are reopening, parents and kids have an exciting opportunity to get out of the house and explore some new stories. It’s also an exciting time for authors who’ve been waiting months to share their new stories with the world. Today, I’ll be highlighting Grown-ups Never Do That by Davide Cali, a timely tale with a much needed lesson for kids and a good reminder for adults too.

So what do grown-ups do exactly? Well, they’re mature so they never misbehave or burp, right? They’re always telling kids to clean up, so they’re never messy themselves…or are they? They never cheat, blame someone else, or complain. They never overdo it on screen time. And they’re certainly never, ever wrong…right?

Well that’s what grown-ups would like kids to believe. But Davide Cali’s words about what grown-ups never do, combined with Benjamin Chaud’s illustrations of grown-ups doing just that, help kids to learn that grown-ups are human too and make many, many mistakes.

This was a humorous story. The illustrations of grown-ups doing exactly what they tell kids not to do will entertain kids while gently reminding adults to practice what they preach. This book also delivers a good lesson for kids: just because you see a grown-up doing something doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. I would recommend this picture book for families, day cares, classrooms, and libraries.

Grown-ups Never Do That released in September and is available now!