by Carrie Finison ; illustrated by Daniel Wiseman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 26, 2021
An excellent update on the golden rule: treat people how they want to be treated.
A cheerful approach to basic consent.
In rollicking text readers learn that Doug, a brown-skinned child with red glasses, “likes to sort his rock collection, and try on his sock collection, and draw with his chalk collection.” He often has a smile on his face and “just doesn’t like hugs.” “Doug likes YOU,” the book assures readers, explaining that Doug only likes good-night hugs, from his mom. The next page points to people of various ages and racial presentations and poses a question: “Can you hug these people? There’s only one way to find out.” “ASK!” Doug rejoins. Readers learn that “Some people love hugs. Lots of people don’t. And lots of people are somewhere in the middle.” A collage of purple, green, and blue people (and one porcupine), one in hijab and the others with racially differentiated hair, share their preferences around physical affection. The story ends with Doug racing around high-fiving a diverse group of humans and nonhumans. Especially important is that Doug never gives a reason why he doesn’t like hugs—he just doesn’t, and the reason why doesn’t matter, because he gets to make that decision for himself. Even though it doesn’t have—or really need—a plot, this book will still be fun to read aloud or explore independently. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.5-by-19-inch double-page spreads viewed at 8.3% of actual size.)
An excellent update on the golden rule: treat people how they want to be treated. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984813-02-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020
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by Carrie Finison ; illustrated by Erin Kraan
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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...
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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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings
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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
by Christina Geist ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022
Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient.
How do you make a new friend when an old one moves away?
Buddy (from Sorry, Grown-Ups, You Can’t Go to School, 2019, etc.) is feeling lonely. His best friend just moved across town. To make matters worse, there is a field trip coming up, and Buddy needs a bus partner. His sister, Lady, has some helpful advice for making a new pal: “You just need to find something you have in common.” Buddy loves the game Robo Chargers and karate. Surely there is someone else who does, too! Unfortunately, there isn’t. However, when a new student arrives (one day later) and asks everyone to call her Sunny instead of Alison, Buddy gets excited. No one uses his given name, either; they just call him Buddy. He secretly whispers his “real, official name” to Sunny at lunch—an indication that a true friendship is being formed. The rest of the story plods merrily along, all pieces falling exactly into place (she even likes Robo Chargers!), accompanied by Bowers’ digital art, a mix of spot art and full-bleed illustrations. Friendship-building can be an emotionally charged event in a child’s life—young readers will certainly see themselves in Buddy’s plight—but, alas, there is not much storytelling magic to be found. Buddy and his family are White, Sunny and Mr. Teacher are Black, and Buddy’s other classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-30709-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
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by Christina Geist ; illustrated by Tim Bowers
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by Christina Geist ; illustrated by Tim Bowers
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