Book Review: The Totally Secret Secret

The Totally Secret Secret written and illustrated by Bob Shea is the story of two friends who play together everyday.  But, everyday they play the same thing, ballet.  One day, Sparkles the Pony has a secret that he is afraid to share with Ballet Cat, a secret that would make Ballet Cat not want to be his friend anymore.  Finally, after much pleading on Ballet Cat’s part, Sparkles shares with Ballet Cat that sometimes he just doesn’t want to play ballet.  Ballet Cat reveals that even those she loves ballet, she loves her friend Sparkles, more.
With bright backgrounds and basic line drawings that convey more expression than you can imagine in Shea’s typical style, this story is perfect for an beginner reader who is comfortable following speech bubbles (similar to Mo Willem’s Elephant & Pigge series) with words that are a little more advanced and inflection with words written in italics.  A story to share the importance of listening, compromise, and friendship.
Title: The Totally Secret Secret
Author & Illustrator: Bob Shea
Publisher: Disney
Publication Date: 2015