I'M AFRAID, SAID THE LEAF

Name: I'M AFRAID, SAID THE LEAF
Author: Danielle Daniel
ISBN: 9781774880708

by Danielle Daniel ; illustrated by Matt James ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2024

The inner lives of different species may be the focus of this story, but it’s the art that renders the tale truly universal.

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The interconnectedness of all earthbound beings centers this tale of fear, support, and love.

“I’m afraid,” says a single yellow leaf as it’s blown from its tree toward the water. “You’re not alone,” responds the tree. On the sand below, a human child watches this interaction. The book follows other usually uncommunicative species as they exhibit some very human emotions. “I could fall,” a little yellow bird in a nest says. The wind assures it, “I will lift you.” And as a squirrel says, “I’m so hungry,” a nut responds, “I will feed you.” In her author’s note, Daniel states that her tale taps into the interdependence of all living things and that “every single living thing depends on another living thing.” Yet it’s James’ art that elevates the exceedingly spare text emotionally. Using acrylic paint, he depicts a tan-skinned child who follows along, drawing a smiley face on the shore as the leaf falls, running along as the bird takes flight, and, overall, providing the necessary visual connection the text so desperately needs. The result is a poetic encapsulation of the connections among all living things on Earth.

The inner lives of different species may be the focus of this story, but it’s the art that renders the tale truly universal. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: May 7, 2024

ISBN: 9781774880708

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Tundra Books

Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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REASONS TO LOOK AT THE NIGHT SKY
by Danielle Daniel

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SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE AN OAK
by Danielle Daniel ; illustrated by Jackie Traverse

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YOU HOLD ME UP
by Monique Gray Smith ; illustrated by Danielle Daniel

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

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...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

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FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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TINY T. REX AND THE IMPOSSIBLE HUG

by Jonathan Stutzman ; illustrated by Jay Fleck ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2019

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.

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With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?

Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)