"Sometimes a Wall..." by Dianne White is a lovely picture book and a great tool for teaching social skills and addressing social emotional learning. Ideal for primary grades, kindergarten through 3rd. Even though illustrations are geared towards the very young, the theme of walls real or not is a lasting theme when it comes to social dynamics of children in school settings. Surely, every primary teacher deals daily with "walls" and its affect on student groups, class management, and learning.

Sometimes a Wall is trying to send a message, I’m just not sure what that message is. I think this book would be a bit confusing to little kids and most likely will not get it for my library.

Not to be too corny, but this is a book divided.

But first, the good things: I love the illustrations. I'm a huge fan of books that utilize this style where a blob of color overlaid by fine black ink. I also liked the diversity of children represented. The illustrator captures a sense of playfulness and childhood that I love.

That's why it's a shame that the text of this book can't decide what it's trying to be. It starts out with a strong concept--"There are many types of walls in the world" (ok, great!), and "walls can be all sorts of things" (awesome!), now "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" (huh?), also, "walls can be bad and divide people" (true, but huh?)--and it ends on a weird note "friendship is great, let's paint this castle!"

Is this a book about how fun walls can be and how they are fodder for the imagination (like cardboard boxes or pillow forts)? Is this a book about the importance of friendship and kindness? Is it a not-so-subtle political commentary on Trump's wall? Is it inspired by Dr. Seuss' rhyming concept words? Who even knows.

I think this book would have been more successful as a "learn about walls" concept book. Don't get me wrong, I'm not pro-Trump-wall, but as a children's librarian, I have little patience for books like this--political preaching cloaked under the guise of "friendship."

A simple yet poignant picture book about all the things a wall can do. Very timely, obviously, but while the language was simple, I just didn’t hit right for me. I liked the message of forgiveness and friendship, but something about this felt a little too contrived. A good book, but not the best it could be.

This was a cute book about walls and how they can make others feel. The illustrations were simple but beautiful, and the sentences were short and easy to read. This would be a good way to teach children about being inclusive.

I don't know that I understood what the text was trying to accomplish in this book. It did seem to be written in verse, but the message wasn't always terribly apparent. It seemed a bit abstract for the audience that is likely to pick it up. I wanted this book to make a clearer statement than it did. All in all, I was a little underwhelmed.

Sometimes a Wall is a simply written picture book with a strong message. It really hits on the fact that a simple perspective can change everything. This is a good conversation starter with elementary aged kids - I could definitely see myself using this in my classroom for social-emotional learning or characterization. There is definitely teaching value in this book, but I would not recommend it as an independent read book. It requires conversation, I believe, for younger kids to understand and see the "big picture" in the book.

Sometimes walls are built for different purposes. Sometimes they bring children/people together for different reasons. Sometimes walls can make us feel excluded. Sometimes, though, when people work towards one goal, a wall can be built along with friendships that last forever.

Sometimes a Wall is a simply written picture book with a strong message. I love using books in my story times that start a conversation. Sometimes I need to prompt my K-1st grade students. I won't have to guide this discussion. My students have a lot to say about being blocked and trying new ways to solve a problem.

This was a cute story about friendship, but it isn't anything special. The metaphor was confusing at times.

Imaginative and thought invoking, Sometimes a Wall is a great conversation starter for kids. The illustrations are fun and vibrant and show how simple perspective can change things into not what they originally seem.

This book is about different walls that individuals will encounter in society, throughout their life. It follows a group of children playing and exploring and explores collaboration, friendship, exclusion, imagination and other situations that the building or breaking down of a wall provide. I did not love this story for children, I did not really understand the point, I found the one word per page or situation quite odd. It was hard to follow and I do not think the point came across clearly. The illustrations were great. I may have this in a classroom for students to read, about friendship and collaboration, but I would not use it as an adaptation.

Sometimes a Wall had great potential. I loved the idea of a book about walls and what they can do, both good and bad. But the book in general felt a little disjointed and I wasn't quite sure how it was all supposed to fit together. Excellent idea, just not well executed.

The illustrations are really well done and would definitely pull children in. Beyond that, the message is weak and I was waiting for the book to feel like it had started with every page turn. It felt very lacking in substance.

This short picture book is about walls (pictures show a castle wall). It would be a great conversation starter about all kinds of walls - good and bad. It might be a little odd if it was read without any follow up conversation. It is a light way to bring up what can be a heavy topic.

Sometimes a Wall is a book that I couldn't wait to read, expecting largely the message that it delivers. The illustrations are spot-on, but I struggled with the format of the book. The storyline is too young for the level of reader that can follow varying locations of text around a page but doesn't lend itself well to a straightforward read-aloud for the same reason, making it less than ideal for younger listeners. This book could spur valuable conversational bout friendship and exclusion, separation and acceptance, but it would need adult support to really get at the depth of the message. There is definitely teaching value in this book, but it would not be my recommendation for an independent student read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in return for a fair and honest review.

This book looks like a good launching point for discussing the pros and cons of walls/boundaries, about solitude v. loneliness, isolation, sanctuary. Illustrations are attractive and engaging, but sometimes a little confusing. Wondering if that will pose a problem for the target audience.

Sometimes a wall can separate and sometimes it can bring together. In sometimes a wall a group of friends enjoy building a wall and creating a castle and tower, and through it there is an exploration of separation and how they can come back together.

This is largely a simple story with words to describe feelings and emotions. However I really loved the way the children illustrations support the simple text in this story. The playful style of the illustrations serves as a counterbalance to the sometimes serious aspects in the text and keeps it feeling child appropriate while allowing the opportunity to discuss emotions.

We did not like this book; the kid hated it. Kid says “I don’t understand what this is about.”
Adult says “It’s too abstract and there is no verb and adjective agreement.”
There was no consistent cadence to the one word pages. And a lot of the words were not anything that had to do with a wall or what you could do with a metaphorical wall.
The drawings were cute, but the wall randomly turning into a castle was confusing to not just Kid, but Adult too.

I received an ARC from the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Love the idea of this book and the artwork is lovely. I just didn't love it as much as I wanted to and having a hard time pin pointing why.