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MY GUARDIAN

Name: MY GUARDIAN
Author: Azahara Castillo
ISBN: 9788419464743

by Azahara Castillo ; illustrated by Maite García Lliso ; translated by Jon Brokenbrow ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2024

Big emotions made relatable for young readers.

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A child turns fear into peace while figuring out how to deal with monster-shaped anxiety.

The light-skinned, blond-haired girl cowers, hides, and flees from the scribbly black blob. Wherever the child goes, it follows, and she feels alone in her struggle. “I asked other people to help me, but nobody else could see it,” she explains. “I don’t even know if they believed me…” Finally, unable to continue, the girl stops and listens to the monster. She comes to a realization: “I understood that it didn’t want to hurt me. It was there to warn me of danger!” The creature is her anxiety, and it’s simply sending her warning signs. “When I take on too many things at once” or “when I don’t look after myself properly,” the creature “appears and yells, ‘STOP!’” The child realizes that it’s important not to push away loved ones trying to help; eventually, she learns to transform her seemingly terrifying emotions into a sense of serenity. The dramatic illustrations convey a range of emotions; early on, the looming black monster menaces her, while later, lush scenes depict a human heart bursting with flowers and the girl sitting in a rocking chair in a blooming meadow. Translated from Spanish, this book convincingly conveys the pressure of anxiety, though the word itself isn’t used until an author’s note that follows the story.

Big emotions made relatable for young readers. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2024

ISBN: 9788419464743

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Cuento de Luz

Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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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)