Serves up a delicious story, rich in culture and community, that will bring readers back for more.
A Cherokee community observes the beginning of spring with a feast.
As the nights get shorter, “the frost melts,” and “the dark clouds flee,” it’s time to get ready for a big meal. Everyone has a job to do. Mama puts the finishing touches on a basket, while Agilisi (Cherokee for Grandmother) sews a dress. Meanwhile, Daddy and Agiduda (Grandfather) are busy in the garage. The young child who narrates replenishes the henhouse with hay. Soon, family and community members head into the woods to forage for wild onions. The next day, they gather at the community center to prepare the meal. “Mama stirs and cooks. Agilisi tastes and seasons. Daddy kneads and shapes. Agiduda fries and turns.” Finally, Agilisi gives thanks to the Creator, and everybody enjoys corn soup, wild onions and eggs, and grape dumplings. Rogers (Cherokee Nation) imbues her text with warmth and playfulness; readers will smile when the narrator describes trimming wild onions as giving them haircuts. The pacing picks up in the kitchen scenes; word choice and the use of alliteration speak to the senses and heighten the excitement. Goodnight’s (Chickasaw Nation) gentle illustrations depict a supportive, tightknit community. Cherokee values—reciprocity, cooperation, respect, and kinship—are on full display. In an author’s note, Rogers reflects on the history of the Cherokee Nation and discusses the cultural significance of wild onion dinners.
Serves up a delicious story, rich in culture and community, that will bring readers back for more. (about food and recipes, glossary, a note from Heartdrum author-curator Cynthia Leitich-Smith) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780063076792
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Heartdrum
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
Being kind and helpful lights up the day from within in this inspiring and idyllic slice-of-life tale.
Actor, social media star, and entrepreneur Brown pens a joyful paean to positive thinking in her children’s debut.
Brown-skinned Tab rides a strawberry-themed bike, accompanied by a curly-haired black dog, Grady. Tab’s dazzling smile and wide eyes signal the upbeat theme echoed in the text, celebrating the sun’s warmth, which “fills everyone up with joy.” But Tab’s mood shifts, as it’s a “cloudy and gray” June day. Alert readers will spot the dog’s smiling countenance and note glimpses of sunny yellow butterflies and flowers. Mama’s reassurance that there’s “always a chance” for sunshine also underscores the optimism. Tab and Grady bike through suburban streets “to find the sun.” Along the way, the two stop to assist a neighbor building a birdhouse, loft a kite for friends Frankie and Fonte, and lend a hand to others, all while still having fun. Mama steers Tab toward an eventual understanding of the real source of joy: Though the sun didn’t appear, “I brightened everyone’s day!” The illustrations subtly underscore the message of this radiant story as touches of gold lighten the palette, which ends with sunny brilliance. Most characters read Black, though Tab’s community includes people who vary in skin tone, body type, and ability.
Being kind and helpful lights up the day from within in this inspiring and idyllic slice-of-life tale. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 11, 2025
ISBN: 9780063342262
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
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