Some helpful hints about keeping children’s rooms neat, but the storytelling falters.
Shearer and Teplin, founders of the Home Edit—a company dedicated to decluttering domestic spaces—offer youngsters guidance on getting organized.
When Mia sleeps over at Hannah’s house, Hannah’s messy room keeps the girls from having fun. Every toy or activity is broken or has missing pieces. A storm rages outside, and the kids find themselves plunged into darkness. They hear voices as storage boxes, clothing, and pieces of furniture come to life and offer to help the girls clean up. Mia suggests, “What if we make your room look like a rainbow?” (The ROYGBIV spectrum is at the heart of the Home Edit.) A list of basic rules appears on a pink piece of notebook paper: “1. Take everything out. 2. Put into piles. 3. Decide what to keep and what to give away. 4. Put things back where they belong.” Soon, old clothes and outgrown toys are ready for donation, art supplies have been properly arranged, and colorful storage boxes have been filled and labeled. The detailed digital illustrations are bright, but the rainbow organizational elements don’t stand out as they do in the vivid photographs in the authors’ adult books. While some parents may be able to use this book as an encouraging nod toward cleanliness, the narrative feels purposeful; it’s unlikely most kids will pick this one up on their own. The characters are light-skinned.
Some helpful hints about keeping children’s rooms neat, but the storytelling falters. (note to parents and caregivers) (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Dec. 31, 2024
ISBN: 9780593712160
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
A full-hearted valentine.
A soaring panegyric to elementary school as a communal place to learn and grow.
“This is a kid,” Schu begins. “This is a kid in a class. This is a class in a hall….” If that class—possibly second graders, though they could be a year to either side of that—numbers only about a dozen in Jamison’s bright paintings, it makes up for that in diversity, with shiny faces of variously brown or olive complexion well outnumbering paler ones; one child using a wheelchair; and at least two who appear to be Asian. (The adult staff is likewise racially diverse.) The children are individualized in the art, but the author’s narrative is addressed more to an older set of readers as it runs almost entirely to collective nouns and abstract concepts: “We share. We help. / This is a community, growing.” Younger audiences will zero in on the pictures, which depict easily recognizable scenes of both individual and collective learning and play, with adults and classmates always on hand to help out or join in. Signs of conflict are unrealistically absent, but an occasional downcast look does add a bit of nuance to the general air of eager positivity on display. A sad face at an apartment window with a comment that “[s]ometimes something happens, and we can’t all be together” can be interpreted as an oblique reference to pandemic closings, but the central message here is that school is a physical space, not a virtual one, where learning and community happen. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A full-hearted valentine. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0458-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet reminder to pause and ponder life’s everyday wonders.
A young girl models mindfulness as she savors each moment.
This charming and vibrant picture book opens in Tisha’s backyard, where she is reaching skyward as falling blossoms float toward her. Her joy and anticipation are disrupted by a series of “hurry up” commands from those around her, who prod her to rush for the school bus, attend an assembly, and make sure that she doesn’t miss lunch. The externally imposed directions conflict with Tisha’s natural curiosity, which compels her not only to “listen to the sounds” and to count the spots on a ladybug she finds during recess, but also to create connections between a book she finds about space and the space shuttle she imagines but cannot finish drawing because “it’s time to put the crayons away.” When Tisha requests “a little slowdown,” she and Mommy decide to walk home and play “How Many?” along the way; they also snuggle on a park bench and name all the pigeons. What began as a harried day ends on an idyllic note with a family picnic under flowering trees; when the wind blows, Tisha can catch a blossom at last. Artful and striking illustrations produce a multitude of visual textures that delineate individual blooms, sketch Tisha’s neighborhood, render colorful yet subtle details of characters and clothing, and deliver painterly impressions. Tisha and her family are tan-skinned with dark hair; her classmates are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet reminder to pause and ponder life’s everyday wonders. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 17, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2198-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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