The Ploofers have returned in a new heart-warming book that explores self-awareness and respect.

They are visiting a new island and are looking forward to meeting and mingling with its occupants. Everything seems to be going well until one islander targets Little One and calls him cutie pie. He is not amused.

"Someone keeps calling me cute, and cutie pie, and sleepy weepy, and I don"t like it."

Those words make Little One feel small and insignificant and makes him angry and frustrated. He knows he must somehow face these feelings head on but how can he do it?

With help from a friend he confronts the islander who is making him feel very uncomfortable.

"Well, I don't like it when you call me cute. It makes me feel small. I may be small but I still need a little bit of respect."
Will Little One's assertion and standing up for himself pay off and will he get an apology?

The illustrations are extremely well done and the cutaway cover design adds a wonderful tactile touch. I love the fun surprise at the end. It made me laugh. Great ending to a great book!


Both young and old can benefit from the life lesson taught in this story. It is important to have self-respect and respect others as you go through life. I highly recommend this book.

A lovely book to help children think about other people’s feelings and show the importance of the words we choose to use.

In the latest installment the Ploofers are off to explore a new island they find and are excited to meet new people. However, when the islanders single out Little One and say things and do things he doesn't like he gets very upset. Thankfully, he finds another friend who helps him have the courage to let his new friends know how he feels.

I did wonder at the start of the book whether the book was going to be about respecting someone else's body or the words we use as one of the islanders grabs hold of Little One's Cheeks and calls him cutie pie. This might be a point to discuss further when you read to children. How would they feel if someone they didn't know came over and touched their cheek?

There's several points in this book that are good for discussing respect and consent. They're important topics to discuss and this book would be a great way to be able to approach this subject in a gentle way but still convey an important message.

I particularly liked the message of sharing a problem with someone and them coming with you for support when you want to tackle the thing that's upsetting you.

The illustrations of Little One when he's angry and upset are superb. The violent, red fuzz that bursts from him is such a powerful picture against what is usually a pastel palette. Cleverly done and gives you a real feel for the intensity of the emotion felt by Little One. Again, another great discussion point opportunity around what can make you feel 'red'.

The only bit that I wasn't sure about was the ending where the little pebble friend is called cute. It feels like the islanders didn't really learn the lesson of respecting how others feel. It might have been good for the one islander to then explain to the other islander the lesson learnt about respect. Also, although Little One is angry on the one page as you turn to the last page he appears to be chuckling.

I believe this was meant as a comical little twist but the rest of the book is juxtaposed to this with its more serious tone of respect. However, this detail wouldn't stop me from sharing this book with children and I'd use the ending as a teaching point to ask children how they would have tackled the situation in a different way. You could 'hot seat' as either the islander, Little One or pebble.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I was hoping for more from this book. The illustrations are cute. I would have hoped a book about respect would have another way of demonstrating acceptance of an apology other than saying it was okay.

Since reading this book, I have learned that it is actually the sequel to another book called A Little Bit of Courage. I'm wondering if it might have been better to read that one first, because I was a little confused about who these characters are and what to expect. The characters, the Ploofers, begin an adventure in a new land and the people who live there begin to call one of the characters a "cutie pie" which offends them and they learn to stand up for themselves. I think the message of the story is meant to be that we need to be respectful in what we call others and that when someone calls us something that makes us feel uncomfortable, it is important to be firm and clear with what we expect from others in order to feel respected. It reminds me a bit of consent and verbal or sexual harassment in a way that children would understand. I don't love that the story ends with the "adult" character calling someone else cute because I would prefer that the character learned from the previous interaction rather than sending the message that we can just keep on calling people things that might upset them until we finally learn from our mistakes.

I think this book has an important message, and I could see it in a classroom library or family bookshelf for children in the 3-9 age range. I would recommend this book to adults who want to teach concepts like consent, respect and standing up for yourself. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book and would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I was so excited to be back with the ploofers again. In this book, a baby ploofer was upset, because some of the adults kept calling it cutie pie, and other names that it did not like. The ploofer was eventually able to tell the adults about its feelings, so that they could respect it, and not upset it any more. This is a good message for children, so that they know they can tell people if they do not like the way they are speaking to them. The illustrations in the book are quirky and cute. I thought the book was great!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When you get hurt, sometimes the other person does not even know that they hurt you. It can be a difficult task to tell them because you have to be aware of your own feelings and on top of that you have to open up and share them,
Still difficult for most adults and of cause also for children.

This sweet little book with wonderful illustrations teaches small children this important skill.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Title: A Little Bit of Respect
Written by: Claire Alexander
Pub Date 03 May 2022
Published by: Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books, Happy Yak
Genre: Children's Fiction
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4635473306

A new story following The Ploofers' from the book "A Little Bit Different". In this volume the small creatures known as Ploofers' are visiting a new island and getting to know the natives. Only things do not go so smoothly, as often happens when we meet someone new they have to learn each others likes and dislikes.

In this installment we see that Alexander has tried to show what it is like when people call us words we don't like. Perhaps this can be an attempt to show children what it can be like to call someone by the wrong pronoun. Or just the wrong words in general. (I for one, as a grown woman, hate to be called a girl)

Though I commend Alexander on this book the ending did seem abrupt. Why stop the book there when the new character repeats the same word. Should it not be made clear again that this is not ok?! I felt like the moral of the story ended up being, "there is no point in correcting people about things you don't like to be called because they will just keep doing it anyway."

Loved the art just as I did with the last book, I just think the ending could have been clearer.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of A Little Bit Of Respect in exchange of my honest opinion.

A Little Bit Of Respect is the perfect book for small kids to see how to stand up for themselves when something or someone is bothering them but in a very respectful manner.

It's such a short story but fill up with spot on advices and tips that I wished I had read it when I was younger!

I received this arc inmexchanhe for my honest review.

I haven't read the other books in this collection but I'm going to now! I loved the depiction of the ploofer getting upset and how its frustration in turn impacted others like a butterfly effect. Most importantly, I love how it was able to address the issue with clear communication. This is a great message for kiddos and adults alike and is essential to enable kids to be emotionally intelligent and concise. Highly recommend!