LET’S WORK SMARTER: Harmony Lane Adventures Book 2 by Katharine Mitropoulos, Illustrated by Laura Watson – Children’s Animal Stories, Picture Books, Creative Thinking Skills

Katharine Mitropoulos’s Let’s Work Smarter, the second book of the Harmony Lane Adventures series, begins on a beautiful day at the Harmony Lane Farmer’s Market. There the residents are hoping to reach their fundraising goal to fix up the local playground.

The next day, after having met their fundraising goal, Mouse takes charge dividing everyone into groups, each with their own job to do. Kangaroo, Frog, and Kitten are tasked with planting a flower garden, which turns out to be hard work! They decide they just need to work harder to get the job done but end up making a mess. Cheetah and Mole work hard while cleaning up the sandbox, causing sticks and leaves to get all over the place. Painting the fence are Giraffe, Bear, and Bunny, who all have their own plan for the design.

By lunch everyone is no closer to finishing their tasks and everyone is exhausted! Mouse suggests everyone needs to work smarter instead of working harder. If everyone takes the time to think of creative ways to accomplish their tasks together and in an easier way, they will all be done fixing up the playground in no time!

The Adventures of Harmony Lane came about from the author’s bedtime story she made up for her children. With a background in psychology, linguistics, and speech-language pathology, Katharine Mitropoulos has created stories that will help teach children the valuable lessons of teamwork and learning.

At the end of Let’s Work Smarter parents will find several prompts they can use with their children to foster development and a love of learning. Based on the story, the suggestions provide insight into the value of the task along with an activity parents can incorporate into their child’s daily routine.

Just as it was in the first Harmony Lane Adventure book, Ready…Set…Frog!, illustrator Laura Watson’s bright and colorful art creates a visually stimulating world. Her lighthearted, whimsical style is a perfect match for Mitropolous’s lively anthropomorphic characters, and the little details are a delight for children to find as the story is read.

Following in what already feels like a rich tradition of Harmony Lane books, we see the animal residents come together to think creatively and work as a team to solve a task in an unexpected way. We see each group approach the solution to their task in a way that emphasizes mindfulness and planning ahead, which allows for parents and children to easily connect this story to their day-to-day life.

Mitropoulos’ Let’s Work Smarter is a brilliant story about problem solving with vivid art. It teaches children the valuable lesson that not only can they accomplish their goals, but that any challenge can be overcome when you work together!