This children's book discusses a difficult subject; having to flea your home due to a fire. In the story the child must decide what to bring with her and soon realizes that what is most important is not material objects, but the family members she loves. Good for teaching about fire drills or house fires and the need to leave things and get yourself out safely, but also an important lesson about material objects. I could also see this as being a good segue into discussions about refugees or people who need to leave their homes for other reasons. This book is well done and one I would recommend. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review.

A wonderful story about the difficulty about having to move and leave home as a child. When you can’t take it all, What To Bring. With a relatable story, important to tell in todays works and wonderful illustrations this book would make a wonderful addition to any collection.

In What to Bring by Lorna Schultz Nicholson, a family is being evacuated from their home due to a fire. This is a good social story for young children to prepare for a fire in their community. The book talks about figuring out what is important in life.

Text is honest, straight-forward and reassuring. Illustrations colorful, lively and inviting. Provides a much-needed book to help kids deal with a scary and increasingly common experience. Well done! Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley and Owlkids Books for the opportunity to preview this book.
#NetGalley #Owlkids

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

What to Bring is a book that helps children with the stress and unknown situation of evacuation due to forest fire. Really it works for any evacuation, it helps explain packing only the important items and some things are going to have to be left behind.

Every year the forrest fires seem to be bigger and more common then the last. I think if you have children and live in a prone area this book is a wise addition to the library.

I think this is an important story to tell, and Malia accurately represents the worries of a young child who doesn't know how to react to evacuating her home. Wanting to bring everything and not understanding that she could lose everything is a very accurate depiction. However I thought the ending was really vague. I think there should have been an extra sentence or page explaining that she realized she just needed her family.

When the unthinkable happens . . .

As a wildfire rages near, Malia and her family must leave their home, taking only what can fit in their car. Malia has very little time to decide what is most important to her.

This is rather an intense and melancholy read, though sadly it is a reality many children must deal with each year. Hopefully it will encourage discussions, empathy, and contemplation about what really matters in our lives.

Having lived in Southern California through the Thomas and Woolsey fires and still under the constant threat of future fires, I was eager to read this newly released picture book about the difficult choices a family must make during an urgent evacuation. Gently told in language young children can relate to, such as mama using her “hurry-up voice”, we follow young Malia’s efforts to pack what matters in the rushed moments her family has to escape from an approaching fire. Her parents send her to pack her important things while they bustle to prepare for the family’s most urgent needs. Children will relate to Malia’s difficult decisions about what to bring, and the story offers a helpful invitation into discussion with little ones about what evacuating means and what matters most in an emergency.

Though fire on the first couple pages is the cause of evacuation in this book, other natural disasters like tornadoes, flooding and hurricanes share the urgency of evacuation that propels this story. The words and illustrations pair perfectly to introduce a young child to the unsettling reality of an evacuation while reassuring them at the same time.

I was relieved the family in this story had a relative’s house to escape to. I would appreciate a book by this same author/illustrator duo explaining an emergency evacuation to a shelter, the conditions within a shelter and the roles of people operating the shelter to keep everyone safe and cared for.

Living in an area prone to natural disasters, I would definitely read this in the classroom at the beginning of storm season. This is such a sensitively-told tale of a family forced to quickly evacuate their home due to a wildfire (presumably--I don't believe the actual word was used). It focuses on the perspective of their young daughter who is old enough to understand something big and scary is happening, but unsure how to process what's going on. She is tasked with packing her bag and struggles to decide what to bring, before deciding what's truly important to her.

This felt very realistic and matter-of-fact, while still being reassuring. The family is fortunate in that they have each other, a means to evacuate, and somewhere to go, so readers are able to focus on Malia's dilemma. Young kids will find her thoughts and feelings to be very relatable and this should spark some good discussions about what young readers might decide to pack for themselves. It would be a wonderful addition to school and classroom libraries for pre-K and early elementary.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

I received a copy of this eBook in exchange for a honest review from netgalley.

This is a beautifully written and illustrated picture book about having to leave home in a hurry and what do you bring. The little girl wants to take everything but in the end realizes what's most important to take... Her Family.

What a WONDERFUL picture book to help children process their feelings as they consider what it is like to evacuate their home. Reading a book like this could prepare children for a traumatic event, help them know what others have experienced, help them develop empathy for others, or even help them learn that we can learn to deal with difficult things that happen in our lives. That is an essential thing for children to learn! I loved it. Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity of previewing this book. We will be purchasing this book for our school's library!

#WhattoBring #NetGalley

I received an electronic ARC from Owlkids Books through NetGalley.
A gentle approach to a scary and dangerous situation. Malia's family has to evacuate their home due to a forest fire raging nearby. They need to pack and take what is important and fits in the car. She struggles as she can't decide which is the most special of her belongings. In the end, she whispers something in her mom's ear and does not take anything. Readers can decide/discuss what she shared. Be sure to see the final sentence as it offers a huge clue as to what Malia felt was most important.
Schultz Nicholson uses soft language but offers a realistic view on situations like this. Sadly, the book is timeless as disasters happen in all areas.

As someone who lives in Sonoma County, this is a story I know all too well. It is so important especially to young children to see the realities of wildfires and the tough decisions that are made in a time of crisis. I think everyone could benefit from a book like this.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book. It is sort of a heavy subject for kids but was told in a way that won't scare them. I loved the illustrations. They were colorful and appealing. A good message told for a young audience.

Malia is in the garden with mom when smoke from wildfires is sighted. When instructed to leave, Malia's family must hurry to pack belongings and get to safety. How will Malia choose what to bring with her?

This book focuses on the challenges a little one faces when disaster strikes and one if forced to leave their home and almost everything behind.

A short, easy to understand story for little kids, explaining a youngster's decision about what to take when having to evacuate their home quickly. The illustrations are very colorful & facilitate the understanding of the point/theme of the book. I thought the book introduces a subject that might be kind of scary....without being scary.... & I liked that about it! It's a very nice book & it might offer neat opportunities for further discussion with a little one. I think it'd be a great book to share with the little's!
I received a complimentary e-ARC of this book from Owlkids Books via NetGalley for review purposes.

I feel like this is a story that will always be timeless regardless of where you live or which year we are in. After all, it's not only during a natural disaster when we have to make difficult choices or learn how to let go. It's a quick read but a bit too short and straightforward for my liking, though I think many will be able to relate to this book. Important themes aside, I also loved the gorgeous art style.

This picture book has emotive illustrations and a simple, straightforward story. A young girl and her family must evacuate their home because of approaching wildfires, and she has to decide what she will take with her as they escape. The book is open-ended and doesn't specify what happens to the house, keeping this applicable to kids who have lost everything or who have just evacuated.

Although the book could create unnecessary, intense anxieties for sensitive kids who haven't already experienced something like this, the story will help kids affected by wildfires or house fires process their traumatic experiences. I found the ending somewhat abrupt and overly ambiguous (aside from not specifying the fate of the house), but this will be a helpful tool for conversation starters and healing.

As someone who lives in an area susceptible to wildfires, I love how this book introduces children to evacuations and that they will not be able to take everything with them. The illustrations are soft and beautiful, and they book conveys a sense of calm urgent-ness rather than panic (which honestly I would probably be in if I had to quickly evacuate). I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Such a sweet sad story. I live in the Midwest so haven't experienced something like this but have experienced other natural disasters. I can't imagine what it would be like as a child to have to pick only a few things but I love the message of what is really important and agree with it completely. Here we have tornados and often do not have more than a few minutes of prep before the event occurs. I can't imagine what it would be like trying to evacuate and choose what to take and what to leave. Really makes you think but I think this will be helpful for children of all locations who experience all kinds of natural disasters.