Dimples Delight

Deborah Dowson is a Canadian children’s librarian living in Harvard,
Massachusetts.

Those cute dimples that all the adults love to comment on are causing
Lawrence some serious grief. Joe Morse continues to taunt him about them
and Lawrence wants the teasing to stop. Lawrence discusses the problem
with his best friend, Stewart, who advises him to ignore Joe, thinking
that Joe will get bored if he doesn’t get a reaction to the teasing.
Unfortunately, this strategy fails as Joe just tries harder to get a
reaction. Lawrence then tries not to smile, but that doesn’t work
either. Lawrence finally figures out that if he is proud of his dimples
then he won’t be bothered by Joe’s comments. Lawrence’s decision
to turn his dimples from a liability into an asset sets him free from
his days of torment.

This story contains a central idea that beginning readers have probably
experienced and can easily relate to. There is simple dialogue, an
upbeat tone, and a creative use of simple expressions and situations
along with plenty of illustrations. The repetition of the problem and
the attempted solutions is easy to follow, and the final solution is
empowering. This is a very good choice for beginning readers.
Recommended.