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EVERY PEACH IS A STORY

Name: EVERY PEACH IS A STORY
Author: David Mas Masumoto
ISBN: 9781949480290

by David Mas Masumoto & Nikiko Masumoto ; illustrated by Lauren Tamaki ‧ RELEASE DATE: today

A mouthwatering gem to share with young gardeners everywhere.

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“A peach, like a story, needs time to grow.”

Midori, a young Japanese American girl, strides into her family’s orchard, followed by her Jiichan (Grandfather), to find ripe peaches. She takes a bite of one but…“crunch!” It’s still too hard. Jiichan urges Midori to be patient: “You’ll know it’s ready when it tastes like a story.” Jiichan likens green peaches to the family’s ancestors when they first set foot in the United States: “Things weren’t ready. They felt like strangers.” Time goes by, and Midori picks up a yellow peach; it’s firm but has a soft spot. Midori’s father compares it to the family farm: “We [began] by planting roots in America in one spot.” More time passes, and when Jiichan hands Midori another peach, she takes a juicy bite and detects the seeds of her family’s efforts embodied in the sweet fruit. The seasons pass, and Jiichan dies. In his absence, Midori returns to the orchard, drawing on his guidance as she employs her senses and picks a peach that truly tastes like a story. Narrated in a mix of free verse and prose, the Masumotos’ spare, haikulike text is simple yet laden with lush imagery. Using loose inky-black lines awash with vivid splashes of green, yellow, orange, and blue, Tamaki’s gorgeous illustrations propel this quiet tale forward, evoking Midori’s energy and curiosity.

A mouthwatering gem to share with young gardeners everywhere. (authors’ note) (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: today

ISBN: 9781949480290

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Abrams

Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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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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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)