You Can Do It, Rosie!

ELENA BROWNE has worked in the book industry for many years and now works in publishing. She loves books and dogs, so decided to combine the two in Take the Lead; How to Care for your Dog published in 2020. You Can Do It, Rosie! is Elena’s first picture book and is very close to her heart.BRIAN FITZGERALD feels most at home illustrating children’s picture books, encouraged by winning the International Silent Book Competition in Bologna. His most recent books are I Don’t Want To Go To School, Does an Astronaut Drive a Tractor? and Does a Firefighter Fly a Rocket? He has had the pleasure of seeing five of his books brought to life on ‘Vooks’. He lives and works in Dún Laoghaire.

I read this book to two classes of 29 Junior Infants and it was a big hit with both! ... From the outset the children loved the character of Rosie. Many of them have pets at home and were keen to compare Rosie to their own dogs in terms of size, colour and age – all useful learning experiences! They listened attentively to the story, which gripped them from the beginning, and enjoyed the pattern and sequencing of the narrative (mountains, sea, park etc.) and the animal noises incorporated along the way. It was a good opportunity for them to think about what noises certain animals make. Rosie’s story was set in environments familiar to small children (the park, the butcher’s, the bus stop, the bakery etc.) and the children liked talking about their own local community and neighbourhood. The illustrations were clear and attractive and held the children’s attention. Without a doubt their absolute favourite part of the book was when Rosie became a pirate! They especially loved the idea of her hunting for treasure in her cape and her pirate hat! In the classroom setting this is a lovely book to address the positive character strengths of Resilience and Perseverance. The story illustrates the power of imagination, and teaches us that through friendship and kindness and encouragement from good people anything is possible. “Adventure and kindness is the key, to unlock a world for you and me”, was our favourite line. When asked to give a score to “You Can Do It,Rosie!” the Junior Infants decided to award it “A million out of 10”! It’s hard to argue with that, but perhaps a more realistic and very well-deserved score would be 9 out of 10. This is a lovely book for children from Junior Infants to 1st or even 2nd Class, and a valuable addition to any classroom or home - By Michelle O’ Sullivan, Deputy Principal, Scoil San Treasa, Mount Merrion, Co. Dublin.