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I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ALL THE STARS

Name: I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ALL THE STARS
Author: Becky Davies
ISBN: 978-1-68010-263-5

by Becky Davies ; illustrated by Dana Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 7, 2021

True love may last “longer than a day, a week, a month, a year,” but the memory of this book may not.

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A poem of love is shared between two young children throughout an adventurous day.

Two children with pale skin and stringy hair cavort across backgrounds that range from realistic settings of a grassy hill at night or a boat on a body of water to fanciful locations such as the inside of a raindrop and a ladder made of starlight. All the while, the text of the book professes a love that is greater than “all the stars / that shimmer in the night” and is “softer than a snowflake dance / as crystals gently twirl.” The poem is sweet, the sort of sentimental verse that some people eat up and others find unpleasantly treacly. Readers with a determined sweet tooth will find a selection of vocabulary words (shimmer, endless, swirl, etc.) and concepts that will springboard young minds to abstract conversations: What is “sweeter than rain,” for instance, and what is “wider than the world”? The illustrations—silver linework primarily over navy with pops of a salmon-y pink—are pleasant if somewhat characterless. The text on most pages is set in the same silver, a design choice that may make the words difficult to discern, especially when they appear against the salmon-y pink. Educators and librarians with excellent eyesight will find this a serviceable player in love-themed storytimes.

True love may last “longer than a day, a week, a month, a year,” but the memory of this book may not. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-68010-263-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tiger Tales

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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HOW TO MAKE A BOOK
by Becky Davies ; illustrated by Patricia Hu

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CITIES OF THE WORLD
by Becky Davies ; illustrated by Josie Portillo

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE TURTLE AND THE CHANGING SEA
by Becky Davies ; illustrated by Jennie Poh

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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)