Yes, it’s preachy and has a too-easily-come-by resolution, but for too many kids, it’s a necessary lesson, and the rhyme...
Lucia, a yellow llama, is a sore loser and a gloating winner, and when you’re the founder and president of the Get Gaming Club, that’s a real problem.
Lucia’s downturned mouth and body language speak volumes when she spies a new sign outside the GGC meeting place: “Try your best / have lots of fun / smile and shake / when the game is done,” a repeated refrain. “I did not approve this sign,” she grumps. Lucia confronts the club members, a diverse array of anthropomorphic animals, but no one admits the truth: that they all contributed. The angry llama tells those who “have a problem with [her] club” that they “can just leave.” None do, but no one has any fun that day, and the next week, the GGC is empty. Lucia goes home to play her games with Grandpa, but he turns the tables and exhibits the behaviors Lucia is notorious for. Lucia reacts as her GGC friends do, but this time she has a rhyme to teach Grandpa how to be a good sport. At an emergency meeting, Lucia apologizes and recites the new club pledge, which readers will have learned by now. Morea’s simple cartoon illustrations keep the focus on the characters’ interactions and their spot-on facial expressions and body language. The pastel palette does little to advance the mood, but it is sunny.
Yes, it’s preachy and has a too-easily-come-by resolution, but for too many kids, it’s a necessary lesson, and the rhyme will stick with readers. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5158-4028-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Picture Window Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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