Having been a Senior Editor at Penguin Books, she now works on the children’s list at Affirm Press in Melbourne. Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys have done it again, following up the absolutely beautiful 'Under the Love Umbrella' with this gem! I found that while some of the things listed as ways to be smart could be seen as silly, it's a smart choice to shows kids there's no one right way to be smart.

Together with UK education agency Shapes for Schools, Scribble has developed an RSE resource pack for KS1/KS2 teachers, aimed at developing emotional literacy.Some schools make a very big deal about this, because they want to appear better in comparisons with other schools. This illustrated picture book is an ode the unique and wonderful qualities that make children who they are. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung of the Kulin Nations — the first and continuing custodians of the land on which our books are created. A needed reassurance that tests can't measure everything, and that we need all kinds of kids to create a smart and inventive world. Simple, flowing words coupled with fluorescent illustrations (created from ink, charcoal, and pencil, then digitally assembled) give young readers a book brimming with examples of how they are smart all day, every day .

All the Ways to be Smart (Scribble / Scribe 2018) is a gorgeous, life-affirming children’s book that deservedly won the Children’s Picture Book of the Year in the 2019 Australian Book Industry Awards. All the Ways to be Smart is a brilliant, gorgeous book bursting with unconventional magic spells that prove science is so much more than mere logic, and that being smart is above all about being happy.So in the book, cutting out bats out of cardboard, imagining being a monster, picking out one's own outfit, being sorry when you're naughty, building cubbies (I am loving other members of the Anglosphere tripping over that word, incidentally, having had to explain various dialectal differences to children many times reading books from North America), these are crucial markers of "intelligence" if intelligence can be said to exist for little kids, because play is their work. All the usual things were mentioned like being kind but the rest was a huge list of random things to justify the illustrations.

Great for discussing how we are all different and celebrating all of the unique and wonderful qualities that make children who they are. One of the most pivotal messages that children need to har and illustrated with a brilliant spectrum of colours that leap from the page and right into the heart. Celebrates the myriad ways for kids to be smart--being empathic, artistic, athletic, and inquisitive. Recommended to young children who wonder about smarts, and whether they have them, and who need a reminder that there are lots of ways to be intelligent. She was a Senior Editor at Penguin Books Australia, where she worked with some of our country’s most beloved children’s book creators.

The award-winning international bestseller that celebrates the myriad talents that each child brings to the world. I enjoyed the book, but do agree with other reviews that some of the ways to be smart were a little dubious. Joyful and vibrant … Allison Colpoys’ illustrations shimmer with movement and vivacity, with her loose-line illustrations and selective colour palette exuding a nostalgic retro charm. The message is great but there is no real story to this book and it’s mostly positive affirmations which are great for adults but not for kids. The pack, suitable for ages 6–8, is based around books by Allison Colpoys and Davina Bell, including All the Ways to be Smart, Under the Love Umbrella, and The Underwater Fancy-Dress Parade.