All the Ways to be Smart: the beautifully illustrated international bestseller that celebrates the talents of every child

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A lover of words and ideas in many forms, Davina regularly travels the country, speaking to children and adults about books and writing. This heartwarming rhyming read will have your kids celebrating all of the things -- from being athletic to artistic and even empathetic or curious--that make them unique. Some schools make a very big deal about this, because they want to appear better in comparisons with other schools.

In particular, the themes of how being smart in often-overlooked ways struck me; as the parent of a special-needs child, it’s wonderful to find stories that celebrate people who think differently, yet are no less intelligent. That's not to say it didn't open an interesting conversation because we did talk about what smart means, although I don't think that was by design. She is also the author of the Alice books in Penguin’s best-selling Our Australian Girl series, the Lemonade Jones series of Junior Fiction, and the Corner Park Clubhouse series (Middle Grade). Celebrates the myriad ways for kids to be smart--being empathic, artistic, athletic, and inquisitive.

Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys have done it again, following up the absolutely beautiful 'Under the Love Umbrella' with this gem! An earnest and charming book celebrating the joys of all the wonderful qualities that make children who they are, with a subtle and unique message that getting excellent grades is not what makes you smart.

The lovely rhyming text and vibrant illustrations with splashes of neon make this a truly unique book. Positively illuminating, this books glows with spirit and gentle reminders that each of us is special and smart in our own unique way. I remember feeling so frustrated as a child because I wanted there to be more than one meaning of "smart".

It looks as though printed via lithograph, and with a bold, strong font the harks back to a few decades ago, Bell and Colpoys take a diverse perspective on what it means to be smart, and who can be smart. This is a lovely thing as it introduces them to the book and its teaching before they have been conditioned to think anything else. This paired perfectly with a lesson on Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, and the 8 different modalities (art, music, word, people, self, math, body, and nature). You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

This book was such a lovely way to say that all children are smart at different things but that doesn’t make anyone more or less smart. It shows children that being "smart" is so much more than doing well in tests and reminds them of other important aspects of their personalities whilst showcasing all kinds of abilities. So students feel pressure to do well in these tests, when in reality there is more to them than just their scores in those areas - they might be good at sports, or art, or music, or a friend to all etc. This book celebrates the myriad ways one can be smart--knowing the right thing to say, being welcoming to a shy friend, using your imagination, taking chances.

I found that while some of the things listed as ways to be smart could be seen as silly, it's a smart choice to shows kids there's no one right way to be smart. From the award-winning creators of The Underwater Fancy-Dress Parade and Under the Love Umbrella comes this joyful ode to all the unique and wonderful qualities that make children who they are. Whether you are inquisitive, daring, caring and kind or the type of smart person who can spell really long dinosaur names, Bell's touching rhyming text quietly reinforces the value and diversity of intelligence in all its many guises and its partnership with ability, like 'finding treasures' and 'flower picking'. Colpoys's ink, charcoal, and pencil drawings burst with a profusion of neon orange and green, literally highlighting each scene with an incandescence that more than matches the rhyming couplets' jauntiness.