bookshelf

FROM MY HEAD TO MY TOES

Name: FROM MY HEAD TO MY TOES
Author: Aly Raisman
ISBN: 9781250798107

by Aly Raisman ; illustrated by Bea Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2024

Necessary and empowering.

bookshelf

Olympic gold medalist Raisman, who in 2017 spoke out about the sexual abuse she’d endured, presents a primer on bodily autonomy.

“I am strong. I am beautiful. I am unique. I am enough.” So begin the affirmations that appear in this sensitively written book. Raisman underscores the importance of being kind to one’s body and listening to what it needs. She notes that others need to ask permission before touching our bodies; sometimes the answer will be yes, but other times, it will be no. Either is acceptable. Sometimes, someone will forget to ask or won’t respect the answer. When that happens, children can tell them to stop. If they feel unsafe, and it’s hard to say no, they can ask for help from people who make them feel safe. Our voices are just as “powerful,” “beautiful,” and “worthy” as our bodies. Emphasizing the strength inherent in every person—and making clear that we all deserve respect—Raisman has created a much-needed resource for starting a dialogue about consent. Backmatter offers tips for adults about discussing bodies and boundaries. Jackson’s expressive, pastorally soft illustrations depict people, diverse in terms of race, ability, and body type, practicing gymnastics, gardening, and playing basketball. A light-skinned girl wearing a shirt reading “Aly,” presumably a stand-in for the author, features prominently.

Necessary and empowering. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: April 2, 2024

ISBN: 9781250798107

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
FIERCE
by Aly Raisman with Blythe Lawrence

bookshelf

CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

bookshelf

A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

bookshelf

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...

bookshelf

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)