David Smiles - D. Holmes - ★

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AUTHOR: D. Holmes
ILLUSTRATOR: Bárbara Marques
GENRE: Children's Picture Book
PUBLICATION DATE: February 28, 2024
RATING: 1 star.

In a Nutshell: Lovely illustrations, good intent, silly story.

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EDITING TO ADD: It has been brought to my notice that the author of this picture book is a young boy of nine, which I was not aware of while reading or reviewing it. As such, I do feel sad that the book didn't click better for me. You may still want to give the book a try to support a budding young author.
However, I want to emphasize that my reviews are always about books and never authors. As such, I am not editing my original review, or even my rating, which, as per Goodreads rating policy indicates that I 'did not like' the book.
I hope my feedback is taken as constructive criticism and the young writer can enhance his storytelling the next time around. Good luck, and best wishes!
Original and unedited review below.

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Sorry, but I have no choice but to reveal the whole story of this picture book. There’s no other way I can explain my negative feelings. The spoiler section is marked in red.

~~~~~ SPOILERS AHEAD ~~~~~
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David, a shy little boy of unspecified age (he might be 5 or 6?) gets distracted and has an accident while riding his bicycle when he sees a “beautiful girl” playing by the road.

David, injured and taken home by his mom, still thinks about the girl because she is “beautiful”.

David KNOWS that the girl is *kind* because she is beautiful. (This has to be among the worst non sequiturs ever!)

He also realises “how much he liked her and wanted to be around her.” (Mind you, they haven’t even met yet! He’s only seen her once!)

David walks around the whole block to look for the girl.(Apparently, his injuries are insignificant enough to be forgotten.)

When he returns home disappointed, he finds the girl waiting for him. David’s first line to her after introducing his name is… I kid you not… “I was just out looking for you... You are so pretty, and I wanted to tell you that I really like you.” (Really, young David? For a shy guy, you sure go straight to the point!)

Instead of being creeped out, the girl also declares that she “really likes” David.

David smiles and the two become best friends.

Official Moral of the Story: Being around a kind person makes you smile.

Everyone happy except for moi. *smacks forehead!*



This book is nothing but a collection of red flags. The story is creepy, and the message isn't even clear, forget about being right. Going from “looks good’ to “is kind” is a huge leap of logic, and not even an accurate one. The story should explore the whys of such a weird assumption.

Also, was David around unkind people all his life, or was he just shy? If he was shy, how did he decide to go look for the “beautiful girl” all alone and even declared his feelings for her without skipping a beat?

ALSO, going to look for the girl simply because you found her beautiful? Ugh!

The blurb says, ‘David Smiles teaches us that a simple act of kindness can make someone’s world much brighter.’ Good message, except that it doesn’t come out from this story.

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~~~~~ END OF SPOILERS ~~~~~


I have never ever given any children's book just a single star in my life! I feel horrible, but I cannot be kind to a book with such a storyline and allow impressionable children to reach an incorrect takeaway. Who needs more shallow humans around!?

Oh and just to clarify, the sole star belongs entirely to the illustrations – they are gorgeous inside as on the cover art.

Apologies to the team behind the book, but there’s no way I can recommend this. It needs major edits before it can pass muster as a children’s story.

My thanks to Leaf & Literature, LLC and NetGalley for the DRC of “David Smiles”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Sorry this didn’t work out better.

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