The Important Book

I bought this book to model "main idea" for children. It's mildly useful for that purpose, but some of "the important things" about the items are, in fact, almost irrelevant. I don't have the book handy, but I think this author, whom I really like, btw, said the important thing about snow is that it is white. Well, that is just an opinion, and hard to relate to when its more important to know that snow can kill you, for example, or that it's fun to play in, if you are a kid. The whiteness has a reflective value, but there is no intrinsic importance to it being white. So, it's kind of an opinionated book and may not be the best one in the world to illustrate the concept of topic or main idea. The vignettes are good discussion starters, though.

This book uses a specific writing pattern and style that can be learned by primary level students and developed in the upper grades. It also can be used as a model to teach writing conventions and organizational skills to young writers.

This could have been written many different ways, and the outcome would be the same. The 'important' thing in each case is not really based on any specific facts or evidence nor is it important, merely opinion and descriptive terms (why on earth would being round -an apple- be important to a fruit?). The lesson at the end, which really doesn't tie in to the rest of the examples in any specific way, is that 'you being you' is what's important. That also falls flat. What if 'you' are a bully? A racist? A misogynist?

What I ended up using the book to teach, is that whatever anyone thinks is important is purely THEIR opinion, and we need to learn to think for ourselves and question whatever we are told by anyone else.

Another teacher recommended this book for a writing lesson. Boy, did I make a mistake following that advice. This book is poorly written and is definitely lacking in creativity. I'm not sure how "the grass smelled like grass," or "the apple tasted like an apple" is good writing.

This could have been written many different ways, and the outcome would be the same. The 'important' thing in each case is not really based on any specific facts or evidence nor is it important, merely opinion and descriptive terms (why on earth would being round -an apple- be important to a fruit?). The lesson at the end, which really doesn't tie in to the rest of the examples in any specific way, is that 'you being you' is what's important. That also falls flat. What if 'you' are a bully? A racist? A misogynist?

What I ended up using the book to teach, is that whatever anyone thinks is important is purely THEIR opinion, and we need to learn to think for ourselves and question whatever we are told by anyone else.

Another teacher recommended this book for a writing lesson. Boy, did I make a mistake following that advice. This book is poorly written and is definitely lacking in creativity. I'm not sure how "the grass smelled like grass," or "the apple tasted like an apple" is good writing.

Hi, I just read the review below from the infuriated reader who said that this book talks down to children.

But once I went to a talk about children's books and they discussed this book and said that Margaret Wise Brown was not doing that at all. That the intent of the book is actually to invite kids to debate and have their own opinions. She sets up these statements on purpose to provoke, and to get kids to think for themselves. She's playing with the reader because of course, how CAN you say that a daisy is important 'because it is white'? It's also yellow in the middle, and has petals, or whatever. Same with an apple. She says it's important because 'it is round' but what about because it's sweet? Or juicy? The whole joke is that she's announcing 'what's important' about something in order to invite thought and prompt argument. Her other stories reveal too much depth for her to have really been trying to control kids' minds with the 'important book.'

The important thing about "The Important Book" is that my 2-year-old son loves it.

It is true that it made of paper, and is beautifully illustrated, and tells about wind and grass and snow and more, and sometimes makes Daddy-the-ex-English-teacher cringe a bit when it uses "has a grassy smell" to describe grass, and my little boy quotes from it liberally, six times a day, and that when we lost it, we had to buy another copy the next day because he missed it so.

But the important thing about "The Important Book" is that my 2-year-old son loves it!

If you are a teacher who recognizes the importance of SUMMARIZING after each lesson (Learning Focused model) than this book is just the thing to have in your classroom! Just read the book, and have your students follow it's pattern to relate "The most important thing about...(insert topic here)" For example, although Margaret Wise Brown's pages talk about the most important points about spoons and snow, after teaching a lesson on polygons I had my students follow the pattern to summarize what they learned. Their summaries went something like this "The most important thing about a polygon is that it is a closed figure with straight lines. Polygons have 3 or more sides. There are regular and irregular polygons. Circles are not polygons. But the most important thing about a polygon is that it is a closed figure with straight sides." When I read this I knew my fourth graders had gotten exactly what I intended from my lesson on polygons! I hung this summary on our math bulletin board along with The Important Book slipped into a page protector stapled beside it.
A librarian I met ordered a copy for every teacher in her school! This would be a great teacher gift too!

The important thing about this book is how naturally effective it is. Click on the 1-star and 2-star reviews, and you'll find "reviews" from adults who
are unwittingly engaged in the exercise that this book is intended to initiate in young children.

Very interesting and helpful book that makes you think about what is important to children.
Very famous author who understands children. Also consider The 200 Most Important Things That Kids Need To Know About Life.

This is a book I discovered when looking for patterned language books for my elementary remedial reading and writing students. I created a list of Important Words from The Important Book, a vocabulary list! We also brainstormed other nouns that would fit in the categories with the important things. We then wrote our own versions of the book with the students selecting an item brainstormed for each corresponding page. This book has helped facilitate IMPORTANT learning experiences!!! It is ageless and timeless. A true treasure!!!!!

I love The Important Book! The message in the text is clear and simple. It helps all of my students see that there is something important about everything, no matter how small or inconsequential we may think it is. I use this book with my new classes every August. I use The Important Book as a read aloud and then have my students use the format to tell me the important things about themselves. They love it, and it makes a great hallway display.

This thoughtfull Brown book methodically affirms a small child's growing ability to construct opinions about his or her world. Misunderstood as asserting objective classifications, Brown instead elaborates on the ellusive season of child development when subjective and objective information are indistinguishable:
"the important thing about a daisy is that it is white" and air is "the color of air".
Recommended if you want the child in your life to catch Brown's vision of personal discovery.

I was honestly negatively surprised on this one. It's on a ton of recommendation lists out there, but my kids literally couldn't sit still for it when I first got it, and can't even now (ages 7 and 4)--and they generally enjoy reading books. Maybe it's for children who have developed more metacognitive/philosophical skills? Or for adults?

This is a subliminally racist book -- although this was unlikely the author's or publisher's intent in 1949 when this concept book was first published. Brown's concepts are evaluated as "important" in a very subjective way, and the ultimate message presented through the order of both text and art is not suitable for impressionable children. Concept books are early teaching tools to help children become familiar with colors, shapes, numbers, opposites, letters, and other identifiable, quantifiable concepts in the everyday world. These books focus on one specific concept per title, using recognizable objects or situations are easily understood. And they use illustrations that directly reflect the text presented, rather than provide complementary information as depicted in effective picture book illustrations. The Important Book is not a successful concept book -- nor is it a picture book. Brown defines these "objects" and their importance in this order:

1. A cricket is important because it's black;

2. Glass is important because you can see through it;

3. A spoon is important because you eat with it;

4. A daisy is important because it is white;

5. Rain is important because it is wet;

6. Grass is important because it is green;

7. Snow is important because it is white;

8. An apple is important because it is round;

9. The wind is important because it blows;

10. The sky is important because it is always there;

11. A shoe is important because you put your foot in it; and

12. You are important because you are you.

The book is conceptually divided in focus, has mixed messages in the artwork, and displays an overall tone with racist implications, whether intentionally or not. Perhaps valuable on some level to to a student or historian in analyzing children's books in relation to cultural anthropology of the 1940s? But for a twenty-first century parent or teacher looking for a good concept book, rather, try Brown's The Color Kittens which successfully helps children understand colors. And look to more contemporary titles for concept books that help children understand shapes, foods, and weather.

This is a subliminally racist book -- although this was unlikely the author's or publisher's intent in 1949 when this concept book was first published. Brown's concepts are evaluated as "important" in a very subjective way, and the ultimate message presented through the order of both text and art is not suitable for impressionable children. Concept books are early teaching tools to help children become familiar with colors, shapes, numbers, opposites, letters, and other identifiable, quantifiable concepts in the everyday world. These books focus on one specific concept per title, using recognizable objects or situations are easily understood. And they use illustrations that directly reflect the text presented, rather than provide complementary information as depicted in effective picture book illustrations. The Important Book is not a successful concept book -- nor is it a picture book. Brown defines these "objects" and their importance in this order:

1. A cricket is important because it's black;

2. Glass is important because you can see through it;

3. A spoon is important because you eat with it;

4. A daisy is important because it is white;

5. Rain is important because it is wet;

6. Grass is important because it is green;

7. Snow is important because it is white;

8. An apple is important because it is round;

9. The wind is important because it blows;

10. The sky is important because it is always there;

11. A shoe is important because you put your foot in it; and

12. You are important because you are you.

The book is conceptually divided in focus, has mixed messages in the artwork, and displays an overall tone with racist implications, whether intentionally or not. Perhaps valuable on some level to to a student or historian in analyzing children's books in relation to cultural anthropology of the 1940s? But for a twenty-first century parent or teacher looking for a good concept book, rather, try Brown's The Color Kittens which successfully helps children understand colors. And look to more contemporary titles for concept books that help children understand shapes, foods, and weather.