A fun, deceptively simple school story.
Destiny, nicknamed Fresh Princess, finds a way to make her mark at her new school after a move.
In this tale loosely inspired by Will Smith’s character on the 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the only thing Destiny isn’t looking forward to at her new school is the uniform. It’s boring—except for the purple paisley lining inside the blazer; that part “has some promise.” After a pep talk and a special first-day breakfast with her family, Destiny rides the bus to school with her new friends from the block, each of whom has a role to play at school: hall monitor, lunchroom helper, announcement reader. Destiny wonders what her role will be. After recess, Destiny accidentally puts her uniform jacket on inside out and then decides to leave it that way. Some kids admire it, but one student says she’ll get in trouble for wearing it that way, so she quickly turns it back. That night, she talks to her big sister about it, and she realizes that since she was still wearing her uniform, she wasn’t doing anything wrong. The next day, she inspires others to wear their jackets inside out too, and when the teacher compromises with permission to do so once a week, she is relieved and pleased to have made her mark. Destiny’s dilemma will resonate with outgoing, fashion-conscious children even if it lacks universal appeal. The playful illustrations have as much personality as the Fresh Princess herself. Destiny is black, and the students and teachers at her school are racially diverse.
A fun, deceptively simple school story. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-288458-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.
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)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7033-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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