A welcome refresh of a familiar family dynamic, with the best possible outcome.
A young Black boy negotiates his new status as big sibling after a baby brother arrives on the scene.
From the get-go, listeners learn that “Brandon loved his blanket,” but “he wasn’t so sure about the baby.” Pinkney sets up a pattern whereby the protagonist starts to regress during times of transition: He doesn’t want to sit in his big-boy chair at dinnertime, take a bath in the tub, or sleep in his own bed. When his parents, busy with the baby, don’t respond to his frustrated declarations, he begins to throw a temper tantrum. Each time, “Brandon’s blanket had a better idea.” With three alliterative, onomatopoetic sounds, the plaid wonder transforms into a creature (toucan, sea lion, owl) that distracts and delights Brandon. Soon he and the blanket are a team, entertaining the happy infant. The acrylic, watercolor, and India ink compositions—swirling with the artist’s signature, energetic lines—eventually depict the foursome as a unit. Ultimately, when the baby cries, it’s Brandon who has the situation covered. Children with younger siblings will identify with how hard it is to go from being the center of attention to feeling overlooked. The varied facial expressions throughout the narrative offer opportunities for discussing those emotions.
A welcome refresh of a familiar family dynamic, with the best possible outcome. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9780063159846
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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