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RACE CARS

Name: RACE CARS
Author: Jenny Devenny
ISBN: 978-0-7112-6290-4

A CHILDREN'S BOOK ABOUT WHITE PRIVILEGE

by Jenny Devenny ; illustrated by Jenny Devenny ; edited by Charnaie Gordon ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021

An earnest, uneven effort at tackling a big topic with little ones.

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An automobile race as metaphor to explain White privilege to young children.

Transparent collaboration between a White author/illustrator and a Black editor bespeaks the book’s dual purposes: “to support…[Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] children in resisting social messages of racial inferiority and to support white children in developing a positive self-concept” that does not require a sense of superiority. In the text, intentional spacing disrupts the compound word racecar to introduce two race cars, Chase, who is black, and Ace, who is white. They enjoy racing, and Chase is exceptionally fast. He ends up being the first black car to ever win a race. The all–white car “race committee” decides “to change a few of the rules” to maintain white cars’ advantage. Ensuing pages show Chase blocked from a route open only to white race cars and then stopped by a “race officer,” metaphorically showcasing systemic and institutional racism at play. The thoughtful concluding discussion guide may help readers understand the metaphor, but it doesn’t directly address several issues that risk undermining the text’s good intentions. Why is every car on the race committee white to begin with, and why has “no one…ever seen them?” Isn’t White dominance of powerful institutions painfully visible in the real world? How are readers to understand the cars of other colors that appear? Why is a female race committee member the first to speak out against the unfair rules?

An earnest, uneven effort at tackling a big topic with little ones. (author's note, editor's note, reading tips) (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: May 4, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-7112-6290-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Frances Lincoln

Review Posted Online: May 4, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)