The first chapter of Jonathan Collin’s Mom’s Choice Award winning book “The Adventures of Mali & Keela: A Virtues Book for Children” introduces the two high-spirited youngsters of the title, Mali and Keela. As the children embark on their first adventure to successfully climb all of the peaks of Three Mountain Island, Collins lays the groundwork and structure to follow for the rest of the book. With a keen writing ability, Collins clearly models virtues through his storytelling which are then recapped in the discussion pages that follow each chapter.
The first virtue the reader is exposed to is that of determination. Mali and Keela decide to climb all three mountains of the island, and despite having lost his shoe and instead wearing a makeshift sandal made of leaves, Mali insists to continue the climb. The second virtue of consideration is cradled within the display of the first virtue when Keela expresses that she wouldn’t mind turning back, even though she was particularly eager to reach the top of the third mountain.
Peacefulness enters the stage as the third virtue, beautifully described by Collins and succinctly visualized by Jenny Cooper’s serene and simple pencil illustrations, as Mali and Keela rest to take in their surroundings during their picnic. Within this scene, Collins impressively introduces a subtle and nuanced virtue: tact. Collins lays out a scene where Mali defers to Keela’s hunch that the sound she hears is a the song of a whale, when he, in fact, knows it to be the “wind in the ropes”.
The icing on the cake, in the midst of the lovely storytelling and visuals, is the reciprocal friendship demonstrated between Mali and Keela: both characters take equal responsibility for demonstrating the book’s virtues and for caring for one another, showing children [and adults alike!] the immense benefits of cooperation and consideration for one another that can result in a healthy and strong report between two friends.
Click HERE to access excerpts from the book. Perhaps this is just the thing for you and your children to read together right before bedtime! Purchase yours today! Curious about the author? Meet him HERE in his video introduction of “The Adventures of Mali & Keela: A Virtues Book for Children.”