What’s a name for this richly satisfying book? Winner.
What’s in a name?
According to this thought-provoking conversation sparker, lots—more than readers probably realized. Names are fraught with meaning and spring from varied sources. As narrated in jaunty verse and clarified through speech bubbles, this spirited offering invites children to discover, ponder, and discuss fascinating things about names—their own and those of parents, family members, friends, neighbors, and others, even pets. Many kids may never have thought about names this way. They will learn names aren’t just personal identifiers, but also have functions. Names can be familiar or unique. They can honor people from history or pay homage to seasons, weather, birthplaces, and birth times. What if our names don’t suit us? We can “try new names, or add on a bit, / give them a whirl, and see how they fit”—as in the scene depicting a light-skinned child wearing a tutu who adds an A to their name (turning Louis to Louisa) and looks admiringly in a mirror. Perhaps this book’s greatest strengths are its cheery declarations, portrayals of diversity—in race, ethnicity, attire, and physical ability (a child fingerspells their name in ASL)—and depictions of respectful camaraderie and pride in being unabashedly oneself, expressed through text and charming illustrations, created with traditional printmaking methods and assembled digitally. Grown-ups should absolutely encourage lively post-reading discussion with kids—and note the characters’ final question (“what’s yours?”); response guaranteed! (This book was reviewed digitally.)
What’s a name for this richly satisfying book? Winner. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1856-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
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: March 21, 2025
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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