What happens when children disagree, feel angry, or simply don’t get their way?
Those are the moments when respect can matter most.
Purple Diamond Press is excited to announce Book 8 in C.M. Harris’s What If We Were All series: What If We Were All Respectful!, a new children’s picture book about listening, boundaries, different opinions, emotional regulation, and treating others with respect—even when it isn’t easy.
The book is coming May 2027 and is available for preorder now.
Respect Is More Than Good Manners
Children hear the word respect all the time.
“Be respectful.”
“Respect your classmates.”
“Show some respect.”
But what does respect actually look like to a child?
What If We Were All Respectful! takes that big idea and places it into situations children can recognize.
What happens when a friend doesn’t want a hug?
What if someone has something you want to use?
What happens when someone moves at a different pace?
How should you respond when someone has an opinion completely different from yours?
And what happens when you’re angry enough that you want to react before thinking?
Through rhythmic storytelling and expressive illustrations, the book helps young readers see that respect is something they can practice through their everyday choices.
We Don’t Have to Agree to Respect Each Other
One of the most important messages in What If We Were All Respectful! is simple:
Different opinions are perfectly fine.
Children are growing up in a world filled with different experiences, cultures, abilities, preferences, beliefs, personalities, and points of view. Learning how to navigate those differences is an important social-emotional skill.
The book does not teach children that being respectful means always agreeing, always being happy, or always getting along.
Instead, it explores how children can disagree and still listen. They can feel angry and still choose how they respond. They can be disappointed when someone else wins and still celebrate that person’s accomplishment.
Because disagreement itself is not disrespect.
Helping Children Handle Big Emotions
Respect can become much harder when emotions are strong.
That is why What If We Were All Respectful! also addresses anger and frustration without telling children those feelings are wrong.
Children get angry. They become disappointed. Their feelings get hurt. Sometimes they say or do something they regret.
The story encourages children to recognize those feelings, pause before reacting, consider how their words and actions affect someone else, and make things right when they make a mistake.
These are skills children can carry far beyond the pages of a picture book.
A Resource for Parents and Educators
Designed for children ages 3–10, What If We Were All Respectful! can open meaningful conversations at home, in classrooms, libraries, counseling settings, and other spaces where children learn and grow.
Parents and educators can use the story to discuss:
* listening without interrupting
* respecting personal space and boundaries
* asking before using another person’s belongings
* accepting different opinions
* managing anger and frustration
* considering another person’s feelings
* apologizing and making things right
* celebrating someone else’s success
* understanding that respect should go both ways
A companion curriculum and activities are also planned to help educators extend these conversations beyond storytime.
Book 8 in the What If We Were All Series
What If We Were All Respectful! continues C.M. Harris’s growing What If We Were All collection of picture books created to help children explore the qualities and choices that shape how they see themselves, interact with others, and participate in their communities.
Each title tackles its own theme while reinforcing a larger idea: our differences do not have to divide us.
Book 8 brings that message directly into the moments when children may need it most.
Because children do not have to think the same.
They do not have to like the same things.
They do not have to agree.
But they can still choose respect.
Preorder What If We Were All Respectful! Today
What If We Were All Respectful! by C.M. Harris arrives May 2027.
Preorders are now open on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and more!
Reserve a copy for a child, classroom, school, counseling office, or library and be among the first to add Book 8 to the What If We Were All collection.
