BOOK REVIEW // "What Happened When Charlie Met Claire" by Jeffrey Lee Cheatham II

Once again, Seattle-based children's author Jeffrey Lee Cheatham II has created a charming tale of life's most significant messages and lessons, through some of the most loveable and charming characters.

His personality shines through the pages: if you know Jeffrey, you know the jovial spirit of lightheartedness, kindness, and a thoughtful-yet-quiet intelligence. You know that he is always thinking of his community, and observing his surroundings. He is nurturing the young around him, and serving as a supportive and encouraging professional to his peers.

For his third book, "What Happened When Charlie Met Claire," he brings all of the feel-good sentiments and impactful lessons of his previous stories "The Family Jones and the Eggs of Rex," "Why is Jane So Mad?" and "Hi Blue Sky," and introduces us to the curious bird Charlie, and the cool and collected bear Claire, brilliantly illustrated by Johanna Puukila.

Through this encounter in the forest, we see traces of ourselves. We see the animals meet, try to assess one another based on their own experiences, on hearsay, and we watch as they carefully learn about each other...and about themselves as a result of their conversation, reflections, and their new knowledge.

The tale is a pleasant one, sprinkled with humour, and rich with lessons it takes some adults a lifetime to realize and implement. Through the animals we learn about prejudice, about jumping to conclusions, about bias, and about profiling. We experience a brief tension, we recognize the ills of society in their naive actions, and we learn how to reconcile these ills through conscious, and reflective communication.

"What Happened When Charlie Met Claire" is that they resolved what could have been a confrontation, through questions and through focused conversation. What also happens, is that a clear message is shared with readers about being judgemental...and about how to be accepting and open to others.

Jeffrey is committed to the youth, and continues to create stories that not only teach valuable lessons, but also teach character traits that children can use to build a stronger community. It is with these continued, and deliberate actions that we see the writing of Jeffrey Lee Cheatham II not only become more comprehensive, but also more layered with intention and impact.

From his book readings to his role as the director of the annual Seattle Urban Book Expo, we admire the way this author takes responsibility not only for his community, but also for the messaging he consistently shares and builds upon.

This is a fun and informative book that will make both the child and the parent smile, and all can walk away from the story feeling committed to being understanding and compassionate citizens regardless of the environment they roam...just like Charlie the bird, and Claire the bear.

And if your young one loves to colour...there's a full-story colouring book available to accompany this tale!

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Written by Stacey Marie Robinson for Kya Publishing's "Reflection & Reason" blog.