What Can I Say?

Three things to say in every awkward moment: the easy one, the kind one and the brave one.

Your kid freezes when someone new says hi. A group chat turns mean and they don't know what to type. A bad moment replays at bedtime. What Can I Say? gives kids ages 8 to 12 the words for 82 real moments like these, from the playground to the group chat.

Every moment comes with three scripts, and any of them counts. When your mind goes blank, the easy one is just "Hi. I'm Sam." The brave one is "I never know what to say when I meet someone. I'm Sam." As the book puts it, the easy one on a hard day is worth more than the brave one in your imagination.

• A whole part covers screens and texts: group chats that turn mean, texts that sound mean, gaming voice chat, someone who won't stop messaging, and what happens to a screenshot.
• Seven moments teach kids what to say to themselves, after a mistake, before the scary thing, and at night when the day was bad.
• Every moment is honest about what happens next. It explains why the words work, shows the move most people try first and why it backfires, and says what to do if the words come out weird.
• Kids make the words their own on write-in lines and an "I tried it. What happened:" box in every moment. A "Find it fast" index takes them from a feeling to the right page.
• Bonus: a cut-out pocket card with the twelve lines people reach for most, so the words go with them.

The paperback has 202 pages and 100 black-and-white illustrations, and it is made to be written in. Read one page at dinner, ask "Which one would you actually say?", and you'll hear more about their week than "how was school" ever gets you.

The perfect thing to say usually shows up an hour late. Give them this book for the hour before.