Genre
Picture books for children
Tone
Feel-good
Writing Style
Minimal text
Well-crafted dialogue
Theme
Overcoming fear
Subject
Animal babies
Baby kangaroos
Fear
Friendship
Independence (Personal quality)
Kangaroos
Mother and child

A sweet and simple book about a baby kangaroo walking the fine line between staying at home and testing his independence. Wondeful for read alouds and kids who may be a little anxious about things. ( )

A baby kangaroo explores the world but always returns to the safety of his mama's pouch.

Caldecott Honor winner David Ezra Stein's delightful tale of a baby kangaroo's first hops toward independence is perfect for board book audiences. Joey wants to go exploring, but at first he isn't sure he's ready to leave Mama's safe, warm pouch. Touching on a universal childhood experience, this sweet tale celebrates trying new things. (amazon)

My mentor teacher at Villa Cresta read this book to her students. This book is about a kangaroo who is afraid of the outside world, He met a bee, rabbit, and bird who didn't look like him, so he was scared and ran back to his pouch. Then, he encountered another baby kangaroo, and they became friends.
I would use this book as a shared reading book to younger children because of the pattern of the kangaroo yelling, "POUCH!" It is also a good book for showing children it is okay to try new things; sometimes, trying new things can be scary, but sometimes, it can be fun and rewarding! A possible problem with this book is that the baby kangaroo gets scared when he sees animals that are not like him. This could be looked and perceived as children should be scared if they see someone in public who doesn't look like them, but that's not what we should be teaching children. Stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things is the theme in this book, and if taught correctly, can help students branch out and explore new things.