When Sophie Thinks She Can't...: . . . Really, Really Smart

This is one of the best books ever; so many children believe they "can't" do something and after hearing this story realize that, actually, they can! I read this to two little girls who live next door to me and the looks on their faces afterwards were priceless. It was a wow moment for both of them and they wanted to hear more books by this author. You can't say more than that about a book.

Wish I had purchased this book sooner. Great real life lesson for children.

Great book for my kindergarten class....we love to remind each other of that important word, "YET"!!!

This story seemed helpful for little ones and was interesting for me to read over and over (and over) again. The illustrations are completely charming. My daughter has really fallen in love with Sophie. Some of our favorite children’s books.

This book is fantastic for teaching growth mindset.

Great book!

We find Sophie at the table trying to place various pieces into a square. When her older sister comes by, moves the pieces quickly into place and says, “Too bad you’re not smart,” then walks away. Sophie’s self-confidence plummets and she thinks she, Can’t do ANYTHING!The lesson at school the next day is about the word smart. Just what she doesn’t want to talk about. The teacher explains that becoming smart takes exercise. She wants them to exercise their brains with a math puzzle using squares and rectangles. Oh, no! Sophie doesn’t want anything to do with dreaded puzzles. She feels she’s good at soccer and working hard in the garden, but NOT PUZZLES! When the class has trouble working the puzzle Ms. Mulry, the teacher introduces them to another word that might help: Yet.Cons: The stereotype of having an older sibling come by when Sophie is having trouble working the puzzle, insult her, work the puzzle quickly, then walk away, was just about enough to cause me to close the book. I felt that part wasn't necessary at all to the book. Sophie could have had trouble with the puzzle and labeled herself as a failure at puzzles and math, without the rudeness of a family member. That was very disappointing.Pros: Though the book felt a bit too much of a forced lesson to be learned, it had an extremely good point about trying and not giving up too quickly.

Children fail at some point. It is a fact. Learning how to persevere and problem solve are important life skills they can learn from making mistakes. When Sophie Thinks She Can’t by Molly Bang focuses on this growth mindset approach. Sophie does not believe she is good at math and worries when her teacher presents the class with a puzzle challenging students to build a rectangle using twelve small squares. When the teacher sees her students struggling, she introduces the concept of “yet”. She encourages them, “You haven’t figured it out … YET. Keep working! Keep trying, and you will.” With more time, all of the children are successful in creating different types of rectangles. Readers will be happy to see that Sophie’s new growth mindset mentality stays with her and spreads to other aspects of her life as she returns home and helps her dad with a new problem.Many readers first met Sophie in her debut book, When Sophie Gets Angry Really, Really Angry (1999). The same beautiful artwork that won Molly Bang a Caldecott Honor is present and does a wonderful job of highlighting Sophie’s emotions throughout her journey. Sophie’s classroom is particularly bright and colorful filled with a group of diverse students including one in a wheel chair. This inspirational book that many children will relate to belongs in every school and home library!

A great addition to my classroom library for encouraging Growth Mindset!