Summary: A boy named, Dat, cannot understand the language (gibberish) spoken at his school. Dat feels frustrated and isolated until he makes a friend.
Why this is a great book: Gibberish speaks to the power of friendship and connection. It encourages us to have patience and compassion with those who are learning what may seem to come naturally to us and helps children see through another person’s lens. Learning to see things from another person’s perspective can often be challenging for children, especially younger children because their brains are wired to be self-centered. One of the many benefits of reading is that stories teach us to see things through another person’s eyes and can build empathy. Gibberish is a great read not only for children who are struggling and maybe feeling discouraged in learning a language that is not their home language, but also for children who may have classmates who speak multiple languages. Gibberish reminds us that we all have a rich internal dialogue and that any language can sounds like gibberish when it is unfamiliar to us.