The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes

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Humbert, pieces of water For the first time in as long as balloon, and the pepper rained anyone could remember, Beatrice down on top of Beatrice. made a mistake. And it was a big one! No matter how often students hear mistakes are okay, it is hard for them to believe it. This is because so many students either feel the need to be perfectionists or endure a lot of pressure to be great. Therefore, they need time to understand that mistakes are part of learning. Hopefully, they will realize that making mistakes is okay with The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes! Lost Aesop: There seems to be An Aesop in there somewhere, but it's hard to find. It could be that Mistakes Are Not the End of the World, but if Beatrice truly had never made mistakes in her life, then wouldn't suddenly making a mistake be reason to be concerned? (for an analogy, imagine if Alice spoke perfectly her whole life but then suddenly got a Speech Impediment for no apparent reason, only for Bob to tell her, "It's OK, Alice- lots of people have speech impediments!"). The Aesop could also be not to pressure kids not to make mistakes but, again, if Beatrice had truly never made a mistake in her life, people would have reason to be impressed. She remembered to feed her hamster, Humbert, his favorite food, broccoli. And when she made a sandwich for her brother Carl’s lunch, she used exactly the same amount of peanut butter as jelly. The kid's take: When my 7-year-old son...finished, he sat with a thoughtful look on his face for a moment -- then reopened the book to read it through again. If that's not a recommendation, I don't know what is." - The Oregonian Parenting Blog

Beatrice and Carl made sandwiches. This time, they put the peanut butter and jelly on the outside. They called it an Inside Out PB & J! Lunch was messy and delicious! Beatrice waited for her juggling music to begin. “That’s her! That’s the Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes!” said a woman. “Oh! We know she’ll be perfect!” said a man. When the music started, she tossed Humbert into the air. Next, she added the salt shaker. And finally, the water balloon. In the future I’ll definitely incorporate these into my SEL lessons. I also think that it fits perfectly into the growth mindset revolution! Some questions that could potentially go with this lesson could be:

A refreshing fable that assures kids it's OK to mess up once in a while -- but doesn't beat them over the head with the moral. O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The audience are "stunned" when the water balloon pops on Beatrice because "they couldn't believe that the Girl Who Never Made Mistakes made a mistake". this book might be one way to help them see that trying to be perfect can get in the way of having fun and being creative, and that absolutely no one is perfect. The book's message is unmistakable (so to speak), paired with a subtler reminder of how easy it is to have one's confidence shaken." - Publiishers Weekly The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes is a must-read for any young (or old!) perfectionist. Beatrice Bottomwell is perfectly imperfect!" --Stephanie Oppenheim, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio

It is about a girl named Beatrice Bottomwell, who has become famous in her town as the Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes because she has never in her life made a mistake. Let’s think about Beatrice and her brother Carl. What were their differences? What were their similarities? (Potential brainstorming about their character qualities) Similar to a celebrity, Beatrice is greeted by fans as she leaves her home to head to school - indeed people don't even know her name - because they instead know her famously as 'the girl who never makes any mistakes'. Ever. The reader might be persuaded into thinking such a life would be joyful, but Mark Pett shows us inside Beatrice's head and heart, revealing her self-destructive fears of making a mistake and the potential consequences it would bring upon her reputation. This book is a gentle chiding of perfectionism. I could totally relate to Beatrice, because I was (and still am, sometimes) much the same way. Beatrice is so careful never to make a mistake that she often ends up missing out; because she's not sure if she'll be able to do something perfectly, she won't even try. The pictures are engaging and expressive and colorful and fun. They’re really cute and I love all the little details, from the dad preparing a meal to the specific things taped to the fridge.Beatrice's discovery that you can laugh off even a very public mistake shows the importance of resiliency and helps perfectionist kids keep things in perspective. Most importantly, Beatrice reminds the reader that it's more important to enjoy the things that you do than worry about doing them perfectly."--A Mighty Girl There are things that I should have found objectionable: the eggs and the hamster’s part in the act are examples. The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes is a children's book by two men named Gary Rubinstein and Mark Pett.

It's fun and instructive without feeling overly didactic and the illustrations are darling. Look for it in a book store or library near you. " - Parenting There are different ways to use the task cards. Honestly, they work great for whole class or small group discussions. They even work perfectly for individual work time. No Prep Resource Every student, teacher, and perfectionist needs to read this book about learning and growing from your mistakes! The perfect introduction to growth mindset, The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes is:You do have to suspend disbelief a little bit, as some parts of the story are a little unbelievable. She's a celebrity because she's never made a mistake. Her hamster is a little too sentient. But beyond that, it's a story with a good message about taking risks (like her brother, Carl, or her friends Millie and Sarah, who seem to be having much more fun than perfectionistic Beatrice). And sure enough she does: she accidentally uses pepper instead of salt in her juggling act, which makes her hamster sneeze and pop a water balloon, which lands on her. Afterwards, she's happy but nobody's impressed by her anymore.