Cute and colorful book about being nervous meeting new friends. I loved the detailed, colorful images and the discussion of hard moments. I liked how the child's fears of making new friends was contrasted by his imaginative world where he fought dragons.

I read this book with my six and eight year-old daughters. They both enjoyed it.

My opinion of this book is skewed as I believe my parenting style is different from the authors. The rest of my review is basically just getting at the root of what philosophically I don't agree with about the book. I loved the illustrations, language, white space, concept--I just personally did not agree with the way fears were approached in the book.

I appreciated the encouragement for him to be less shy, to be brave. The way the parents of the book encourage the child is not how I parent, though. Instead of saying "I know you're shy... There's no reason to run. You'll make many friends." I would say, "I'm sorry it's hard at times. You do not ever have to say hi, if you don't want. It's your body, your day. There is nothing wrong with being nervous."

I don't like when kids are told there is "nothing to worry" or "you're okay." It's a personal pet-peeve when people tell my kids "they're okay" when they're hurt. No, they're crying. Let's acknowledge their pain instead of basically telling them to shove their emotions. So, to be honest, I just didn't agree with the message. So, for that matter, I would not read this book to my children again.

I loved the images and the concept, though. I just personally did not enjoy the pushing the kid to be less shy. I'd rather we told our children there's nothing wrong with being nervous. It's okay. And if the CHILD asked for help, then maybe encourage them. Like saying, "It's okay to be scared. I'm scared too sometimes. What can you do when you're scared? Do you know how to be brave, while you're scared? Of course you do! You battle dragons all the time." And see if there could be a dialogue built up from that dragon metaphor.

Overall, a cute and colorful story. If my perspective on shaming above doesn't resonate with you--you will probably love this book!

Smile and say hi is a book about a little boy who is very sy. His imaginary dragon friends help him to overcome his shyness and finally say hi to a girl at school. This is a lovely, very well illustrated book with not too many words on a page. Its rhyming, which I really like and would help to encourage shy children to just say hi!

Thank you to NetGalley and Mascot Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book is the story of a young boy named Michael Joe Bob who is extremely shy and nervous about trying to make friends at school. However, thanks to some help from a few friendly dragons he is able to overcome his social anxiety by smiling and saying hi in order to make friends with a young girl named Chloe.

The art style of this book was really cute and I think it is an amazing book for children to read and a really important book for opening up discussions about social anxiety and forming new friendships when children start school or playgroups.

Being shy is such a common occurance for kids (even adults). This book does a really good job a letting kids know it's normal and okay to be shy, But it's also okay to say hi. The art is stunning. And any book with dragons is going to be great.

This is a good book. The rhyming of words is good and the cutting of each line was also nice.

The drawings and the story plot were so kid-friendly. I can ask questions about each page and my kids are able to answer them right away.

Good book!

Mike is a little boy with a BIG imagination. All night he battles dragons as the bravest knight around. But when new people approach, he goes silent. He’s just too shy.
“Smile and say hi,” his mother encourages him. But Mike can’t do it . . . not, that is, until a wild adventure with a dragon opens him up to the world he’s been missing.
This silly rhyming story about letting go of our fears is sure to appeal to any dragon lover out there. Packed with humor and elevated by whimsical art by Srimalie Bassani, Mary Jo Hazard’s Smile and Say Hi, is a must read.
A big thanks to Mascot Books for the early read!

(4/5) A cute book about overcoming your fears. Dragons teach the shy Mike how to "Smile and Say Hi" in order to go on new adventures. I picked this book up because this is something I'm constantly trying to teach my 3yo and 5yo. I loved the rhyming cadence and the colorful pictures, but I did the think the connection between the "Smile and Say Hi" mantra and winning the dragon race was a little thin. My five-year-old said he liked it "a whole lot" though, and of the four new books I read him today, this was his favorite. Thanks to Mascot Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

Smile and Say Hi is a delightful book which tells the story of a shy young boy becoming more confident with the help of his magical friend. I read this to my 4 year old son and he loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.

I like that the sentences end with rhyming words. There’s a flow to the plot and a good way to teach kids how to not be shy. Haven’t read many books about the topic of shyness so this was unique.

Smile and Say Hi is the story of Mike, a shy little kid who couldn’t talk to strangers. A team of dragons visits him one night and takes him to a dragon race. He gains confidence after that and starts to make friends at school.
The illustrations are vibrant. The story is presented in a rhyming verse. Some of it seemed a little forced, but the overall presentation was rather cute. This book would be a lovely gift for shy kids to gently urge them to take a step forward and try to talk to others.
Thank you, NetGalley and Mascot Books, for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Mascot Books for a copy of "Smile and Say Hi" in exchange for my honest review.

This book has engaging characters and colourful pages that will appeal to children from a very young age. It is a tool for parents and educators to teach shy children that a smile will go a long way in making friends.

Michael Joe Bob is smart and brave but he is very shy. He can slay dragons and wage wars but if someone comes over to him, he can't say hello.

This book teaches that you shouldn't run but smile and say hi, make friends and have fun.

The Dragon King from his wars gives him the courage to try. Michael smiled, said hi and made a new friend.

Michael Joe Bob is shy. He would rather hide in his room than make new friends or try something new. But with the help of some brave dragons, he learns to come out of his shell, smile and say "Hi" to people.

As an introvert, I wondered where this story was going - I always hated being told to talk to new people, despite the promise of fun - but with the power of imaginary dragons and taking that one first step, this became a quite encouraging book for shy young kids. I especially liked how Michael needed to encourage the little dragon to be brave too.

Charmingly illustrated, this was a cute, rhyming story for young readers.

**Many thanks to NetGalley for sharing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

This was such a charming book. It offers courage, and strength to all who reads it. I think many children can relate this story. Being shy is so common in children, specially during a pandemic.
My children really enjoyed this one. They loved the fire breathing dragons. They could relate to the characters, and understood the situations Mike was facing.
I highly recommend this story for everyone! The Author sends out a really good message to the readers. At the end my children were both saying Smile and Say Hi.

👦Colorful, rhyming story: message somewhat lost in the adventure!

3.5-4 🌟stars
This book is definitely full of colorful, cute illustrations. A child will probably love the flight of fantasy that has socially backward Mike consorting with dragons and gaining confidence as he flies the skies and socializes with his imaginary friends. But can his brave nocturnal alter ego help him break through his shyness and make friends at school?

I did not get much of a direct connection between the dragon adventures and the book's main message though I doubt this will make the story any less fun for a child. I felt the rhymes are somewhat forced at times and that more of the book could have been devoted to the title's message.

Thanks to Mascot Books and NetGalley for sharing a copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley & Mascot Books for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet story about a shy child learning how to break out of his nervous shell!

I was a bit confused about how it went from medieval times/dragons to the present day but I can chalk that up to the imagination.

I really enjoyed the message of pushing yourself to, well, "Smile & Say Hi!" because it can be something shy kids really struggle with. The dragon king was pretty fun, I liked his lines!

This is a good book about over coming shyness and is great for young readers, boys especially, whi fear interacting with others.

What a perfect little book for a child that's on the shy side.
With short, snappy rhyming verses which seem to flow really well, and the illustrations are very cute too.
Great book!

I can’t think of a more timely story for our family as SMILE AND SAY HI. Michael Joe Bob is a sweet boy, but hesitant to interact with other children. He goes on a magical adventure with fire-breathing dragons and he gains the confidence he needs to overcome his shyness.

Written in verse, the story flows well and is very captivating to read. Author Mary Jo Hazard infuses her experience as a children’s therapist throughout the story but does it in a whimsical way that children can relate to. Through Michael Joe Bob’s adventures, children are encouraged to use the practical mantra, “just smile and say ‘hi’”.

The illustrations by Srimalie Bassani are vibrant and engaging. My boys really enjoyed the pictures of the dragons, which are drawn in a way that seems inviting and friendly. Even when the dragons are breathing fire, they appear to have smiles on their faces and were not perceived as scary by my children.

As a mother of two shy toddlers, Smile and Say Hi is an excellent tool for parents to use to foster their children’s social skills. The book provided an opportunity for important conversations about the ways they can include other children in their play and overcome their shyness. Like many children, my boys had very limited social opportunities over the last year due to the pandemic. This book is the perfect story to help them develop a strong sense of self before beginning preschool in the fall.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Mascot Books for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a charming book. We loved Mike as a character and both my daughter and I could relate to feeling shy in situations. It was a lovely way of exploring the feeling of being shy and great to have an idea of just saying hi.

Floss (aged 4) The dragon race was very fun and Mike was brave and said hi to the new girl and made a friend. I'm going to try and say hi.

Thank you to the publishers and #NetGalley for the electronic ARC to review #SmileandSayHi

This is a great tool for parents of children with social skill delays. As a parent to a child who is fairly antisocial and not neurotypical - this helps show that even if you get nervous, just try to smile and say hi. It’s ok to be scared, but just smiling and saying hi is a great way to get some confidence.

While yes - we don’t want our children talking to strangers, for some of us we do have to push them out of their comfort zone. My only issue with it is the font and font color. However, my son who has a specific learning disability in all areas of reading was able to read it just fine - where my other son who is gifted had issues.

All in all this is a lovely book that shows a scared kid how to be brave - all while getting to go on a dragon adventure!

*I was lucky to given an advanced ebook of this, thank you to the author, the publisher, and to Netgalley. This is my honest review and I received no compensate other than the ability to read this book.*