Stories for Growing
Cover of Accident!Ages 4 to 7
ResponsibilityMaking things right

Accident!

Andrea Tsurumi

Ages 4 to 7
About this age guidance

Kirkus: 4–7; Publishers Weekly: 4–7

The age tag follows Kirkus review. Other sources may suggest different ages. This is audience guidance, not an independent reading level.

Called a good fit for younger children on a parent responsibility list. The blogger sums it up as owning up, apologizing and cleaning up rather than running from the problem.

Lola the armadillo spills juice on the sofa and flees to the library, and so does everyone else who has had a mishap, while disasters spread across town. A red bird tells her it is fine to call it an accident but she still has to make it better. The animals then apologize, make up for the damage and clean up.

Good forBlaming others

Recommended by Happily Ever Elephants

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What children see in the story

After a city full of animals who hide from their messes, the characters apologize and clean up instead. Lola learns that calling it an accident is only half of it, and the neighbors make up for the damage.

Why it’s on these shelves

Responsibility
Lola spills juice on a white armchair and runs to the library to hide, and her neighbors do the same after their own mishaps. A little red bird tells her it was an accident, but she still has to make it better.
Making things right
After a day of growing disasters, the neighbors apologize, make up for the damage and clean up. Lola finds out an accident can be forgiven and fixed, and her own parent has an oops at the end.

Why pick it up?

The characters own up, apologize and clean up, and Lola’s own parent has an accident too.

A note for parents

Call: this is a story about running away from a mess, not about blaming someone else. No character blames another; the matching situations are needs-to-apologize and bouncing-back. PW says a red bird teaches Lola a two-part lesson. That is a teaching moment, but the book is a chaotic visual romp first; Kirkus and PW both lead with the comedy. Very busy art with many small background gags.

Where this recommendation comes from

Happily Ever Elephants

Called a good fit for younger children on a parent responsibility list. The blogger sums it up as owning up, apologizing and cleaning up rather than running from the problem.

Read Lauren Bercuson’s recommendation
Sources and review status

We have checked source descriptions and drafted the value mapping. We have not personally reviewed the full book. The value labels, situation assignments, and parent notes remain provisional.

Publisher or literacy resource · Original recommendation

Our explanation of the value fit is separate from the original reviewer’s judgment. Their inclusion here does not imply an endorsement of Stories for Growing.

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