God, I Need to Talk to You About Whining

God, I Need to Talk to You About Whining written by Susan K. Leigh, tackles a behavioral problem common among preschoolers. Following suit with other books in the "God, I Need to Talk to You about ..." series, this book reads like a prayer spoken by the main character. In this book, the main character is a young girl.

She begins her conversation with God by saying she has a habit that needs to be broken. "I whine too much." She keeps getting in trouble for it. Even now, she's in time-out for whining. She knows it's not right; that it "annoys people and is disrespectful", but still she has a tough time not doing it. She tells God she doesn't mean to whine, but she does because she wants people to listen to her or help her right away. She confesses: "Sometimes I feel like I'm not very important." The prayer concludes with her asking God for forgiveness and asking Him to help her be more patient and respectful toward others.

The illustrations by Bill Clark are done in comic book style with bold outlines and plenty of expressions.

What I Like: The specificity of this series of books. It's easy to find the exact problem your child may struggle with and grab a book to address the issue directly. I like that the books are told in first person from the child's perspective. I also appreciate the explanations of underlying reasons. By helping the children articulate how they're feeling, parents can more easily address the root causes of the problem.

What I Dislike: The size. The book is paperback, only 4.5 x 5.5". That's small! It is easily lost in a pile of books. But -- considering the price of the book, I can't complain. Making the book bigger or putting it in an easier-to-find boardbook or hardback would raise the price exponentially.

Overall Rating: Very good.

Age Appeal: 2-7

Publisher Info: Concordia Publishing House, 2005; ISBN: 0758607946; Paperback; $0.99

Buy it Now at Christianbook.com for $0.99!
Or buy it at Amazon for $5.49. (I believe this is a pack of six, but the the product description is not clear.)