Stef WadeQ and U Call It Quits

Q & U CALL IT QUITS is a humorous story about friendships and the relationships between letters. This book is fun, educational, and super cute!

In overall appeal, this is a story of soulmates, a perfect pair, two who are meant for each other. When jealousy and resentment, differing needs, and general misunderstandings develop, real conflict and eventual resolution follow a strong story arc. The fact that these "characters" are actual letter characters only makes the story (and analogy) all the more appealing.Wade's word play, strong secondary stories, and ultimate resolve are grin-worthy and provide rich resources for teachers, parents, and kids who want to explore the many ways in which our English alphabet relies on teamwork, flexibility, and careful attention. The very real emotional landscape suits young readers perfectly, ones who struggle with sharing (or making) friendships and setting boundaries without offending.Martin's illustrations place these dynamic letter folks in a subtle virtual life in which everyday play and problems are confronted with kid-friendly reactions, conveyed through remarkably expressive eyes and line-mouths, activated only by stick arms and a pair of legs each. Using those limited elements, their adept application opens fully-lived lives in this colorful and dynamic world of letters.

Great book for kindergarten. My daughter is going into kindergarten and absolutely loves this author we have all of her books. This book is great for those little ones who are just learning to read.

Such a cute story and I love that my toddler will be able to enjoy this book more and more as she grows and learns to recognize letters and read

My wife and I both taught school. We still read kids books. She liked the book. I thought it was ok.

Kindergarten and I got this book for our Q and U unit. It’s adorable and I love it!

Q and U are best buddies. But lately U is feeling suffocated by Q and longs to spend time with other friends and/or alone. But with U off with other friends, Q feels totally alone. She needs U!This story is so clever and relatable. Anyone who has ever felt suffocated by a friend or left out (which I imagine is everyone!) will appreciate this fun story.From an educational standpoint, I love the way the book cleverly shows digraphs and blends (2 concepts my son learned last year in 1st grade). My son enjoyed pointing these out, and I can see this book being a great tool for teachers to bring this concept to life.This book nicely balances the idea that we can all be friends and accomplish great things together; however, in order to do so, we also need our own personal space/time, to most fully be ourselves.

On the surface this is a fun and light-hearted story using letters as a cast of characters—cleverly using the letters Q and U, who always appear together in words, for a friendship story. But what is so wonderful about this book is how the author uses this premise to dig into some rather real and serious friendship issues that kids (and let’s be honest, adults too!) face in real life. Who hasn’t felt pangs of jealousy when their closest bestie started developing friendships with others? And the flip side of such relationship is equally fraught—no one wants to hurt their best friend's feelings, but they should also feel free to spend time with others as well. With this book, readers will be treated to an entertaining and funny story while also helping them navigate the best ways to deal with their own friendship ups and downs.