Love the art - a perfect fit for the kids' feelings.Appreciate that it's totally relevant to children as they figure out how to be ok with being irritated at each other and to still be friends.Absolutely do not like that the kids never talked to each other about the misunderstanding. Did the girl learn anything? Will the boy ever feel like he can trust the girl again?Good for discussion. Not so good for independent reading.

Great title. "What James Said." This title immediately grabs my attention, and it would be a great title for an adult book, as well. Maybe a mystery? :)The book starts out strong, with a killer first line:I'm never talking to James again. We are in a fight.We see a pissed off little girl, her hands on her hips, scowling. She's turned away from her paint-splattered best friend, a boy in glasses.She explains to us that James told A who told B who told C... etc etc times 8, that I think I am perfec...

This little picture book is worth reading for the adorable illustrations alone. The intent behind the message is good, although I wish it had been spelled out a little more; I'm not sure if little kids who'd be reading this book on their own would understand the resolution without a bit of explanation from an adult.It's all about a misunderstanding, like a game of "telephone". The little girl--our narrator--thinks that her best friend has said something bad about her. James's attempts to get bac...

Illustrations created with a ballpoint pen and watercolor highlight a misunderstanding between the narrator and her best friend James. It seems that he said something that ended up being misinterpreted and/or changed by the time it reached the narrator's ears. As often happens in the game of Telephone, what was originally uttered somehow gets reframed over the course of so many lips and ears. The narrator's annoyance is palpable as she refuses to allow James to explain himself as he desperately

Perfect realistic story picture book. Our narrator misinterprets something her best friend said that she heard 20th hand and gets mad, and then realizes that he's her truest, bluest friend. Great story for kids to hear and to always think kindness! Fun colorful splatter-filled artistic illustrations, too!

A very well-told story about how even kids can get hurt by gossip and misunderstandings.Friends

Gossip. A little girl stops talking to her friend because she thinks he is talking about her. At the beginning of the book the word of what James supposedly said went through the "grapevine." James does not understand why she is giving him the silent treatment. Throughout the story he tries to get her to talk to him through a variety of creative ways. She ignores his attempts. The little girl realizes what a long day it can be without her best friend. In the end she realizes that James was not t...

What James Said is a topic that can be understood by many elementary students. Miscommunication happens, even to the best of friends. James was telling all his friends about his friends artwork that he thought was perfect. The little girl thought he was insulting her by saying she thought SHE was perfect. The little girl then decides that her and James are in a fight, and refuses to talk to him. Until the art show, when he tells her exactly what he had been saying all along, that he thought it w...

A little girl gives her friend James the silent treatment when she thinks he is talking about her behind her back. However, she quickly realizes how long a day is without his friendship – and exactly what happened to cause the rift.While I enjoyed this book and think it is an excellent tool to help children learn about forgiveness and gossip, I thought that the point of resolution was a little vague for younger minds. I caught it but it was so subtle and will depend greatly on a narrator’s voice...

From Ali:*****From Dot:***

SummaryA funny, heartfelt, perfectly pitched story about misunderstandings and the importance of true friendship.When a little girl thinks that her best friend James has been saying bad things about her behind her back, she takes action in the form of the silent treatment. As they go about their day and James tries harder and harder to get her to talk to him, they both realize that true friendship surpasses any rumor... or misunderstanding.A classic childhood situation is brought to life with hu...

This is a terrific picture book that I need to share with my students at the beginning of the year. It's got a great message about how listening to rumors only leads to misunderstandings. The little girl in the story hears a rumor about something her best friend said about her that wasn't very nice. Instead of talking to her friend about it, she gets angry and gives him the silent treatment. The 4th and 5th graders I teach are so into spreading rumors about each other and not talking about their...

As someone who works in an elementary school, I felt like this story came right out of what I hear from the kids daily. Sometimes as an outsider or an adult, it's easy for us to see that problems between kids arise from miscommunication, but they can't see it the way we do, and this book does a nice job of giving kids that outside perspective to their struggle of "he/she said something about me!".

A misunderstanding between friends leads one to stop talking to the other.

Review originally posted on Children's AtheneumWhen a little girl thinks her best friend James has been saying bad things about her, she takes action by giving him the silent treatment. James, not understanding, tries to get her to talk to him, but she will have none of it. Like any friendship, these two friends must learn how to navigate a disagreement and a misunderstand.You know how in sitcoms something terrible happens and you think (and sometimes yell at the television) that if the characte...

I liked the beginning of the book as the girl ignored James because he hurt her feelings and loved the twist that he was actually complimenting her and it got twisted around as it was passed long. The rest of the book is meh though. I sort of like that there isn't a forced apologizing scene, but I wish there was something more besides her turning over her paining.I also didn't like that the little girl's explanation of not being perfect included a physical description. How does brown hair, freck...

This book appeals at the story level (friendships damaged by misunderstanding/poor communication), and on its visual merits (vibrant colors, expressive and diverse faces) with symbolically overlaid messy-ness mirroring the effects of scrambled emotions and intentions. The personalities of even minor characters shine through the faces, clothing choices, and body language throughout, allowing for some great discussions of subtext and social screw-ups among older readers.

More of a 3.5, but I liked how a misunderstanding due to a Telephone type of situation comes about and is resolved.

Not what I generally read in storytime, but this is good for the possible Beehive crowd because of the lesson about friendship and communication.

A little girl is “in a fight” with her friend James, even though she’s not sure he knows they are in a fight. She’s “never talking to James again.” Someone told her that James said that she thinks she is perfect. She is certain that she is not perfect. The watercolor illustrations show that James told one person, who told another and so on. When the little girl and James are on the bus and in the lunch room, the other children in the pictures are painted as line drawings showing that she’s so ma...