Title: Chandler the Handler
Author: Kem Frasier
Publisher: Education Learn LLC
ISBN: 9781955531702
Pages: 49
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book
Reviewed by: Gabriella Harrison
Hollywood Book Reviews
Kem Frasier’s illustrated children’s book, Chandler the Handler, chronicles the challenges of Chandler, a fourth-grade boy, navigating the world of bullies and how to handle harassment from them with grace using logic and love. Some of the challenges he encounters with the bullies involve the theft of his bike and pocket money. Initially, he is terrified and sad and doesn’t know what to do. So, he seeks advice from his mother, Old Man Hunter (a knowledgeable adult in the community), and his school’s guidance counselor, who do their best to instill courage in him and encourage him not to resort to violence to get back at the bullies but to approach them with a clear mind and talk things over rationally.
Chandler the Handler is a good book for parents who want to teach their children violence is not the answer and help them imbibe healthy conflict resolution skills. Kem Frasier creates lovely opportunities for interaction by providing questions parents and teachers can ask their children or class to see what they would do if they were in Chandler’s situation, and talk through their answers, guiding them towards healthy choices. This will also allow them to develop an understanding of the child’s personality.
Another excellent aspect of this book is there are many illustrations to keep children engaged and curious. Furthermore, the book is only forty-nine pages long, which will help children with short attention spans to complete the book.
There are great learning points and conversation starters based on Chandler’s interactions with bullies. For instance, Chandler shows support during basketball tryouts for one of the bullies who stole his bike and later becomes his friend when he feels nervous. Readers are then asked if they can be like Chandler. This will encourage introspection and stimulate discussion. The stories promote courage, good communication skills, learning to admit wrongs and apologize for them, kindness, friendship, love, and honesty, among other much-desired qualities, which makes it a good option for character building.
I like that Kim Frasier made these moral lessons and positive character traits stand out by capitalizing them because this will help emphasize their importance to readers. This is a useful tool for parents, guardians, and teachers.
Chandler the Handler is a delightful book for teaching and developing positive interpersonal skills in children.