A helpful option to spark conversations with little ones about emotions.
Practical tips for toddlers dealing with difficult feelings.
This board book tackles childhood situations such as feeling left out, becoming angry with someone, or feeling different from everyone else. In each scenario, Jin offers a useful suggestion that begins with being brave starts with…. “When you’re feeling anxious or worried, being brave starts with…taking one deep breath,” the text explains, while the accompanying illustrations show a little bear appearing nervous about jumping into the water before doing a cannonball. Notably, Jin not only identifies different emotions, but also gives readers realistic strategies for dealing with them. Rather than suggesting distractions, the text points to concrete coping skills and first steps a child might take—among them asking for help or apologizing. The illustrations depict simple, cutesy animals engaged in various scenarios. There is just enough detail to appeal to readers while keeping the focus on the action. This simplicity of the images clearly communicates how the character is feeling and, with a flip of the page, what approach they take to move forward. While there is, of course, so much nuance to all of these situations, this book serves as a starting place for young readers in identifying, discussing, and hopefully normalizing what are very common, uncomfortable feelings. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A helpful option to spark conversations with little ones about emotions. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9781665933391
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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