A delightful celebration of acceptance in all its forms.
When it comes to water, Alf marches to a different drumbeat.
Throughout most of this charming Swedish import, light-skinned Alf is clad in orange pants, a yellow shirt, knee-high black boots, and a fitted pink cap; it’s easy to spot the young narrator among the group of racially diverse kids wearing clothes from the cooler side of the color spectrum. As the book begins, Alf stands on a rock in a stream, tying a homemade sailboat to a tree while complaining about all things aquatic: “Down with rain, lakes, / rivers, seas, puddles, pools, / oceans, streams, marshes, ponds, / brooks, and creeks!” Alf exists mostly on the margins of the group of friends, dipping a boot into the swimming pool and recoiling upon getting wet, capsizing a canoe before the trip even begins, and staying home while the others collect tadpoles in the stream. Lindström’s gouache and watercolor landscapes combine texture, natural beauty, and funny little details, with the moods changing with the seasons or weather. Oddly, Alf enjoys sledding; frozen water doesn’t seem to bother the child. By book’s end, the protagonist has found a creative way to enjoy the pool. This is a refreshingly unsentimental and matter-of-fact take on being different, devoid of heavy-handed moralizing or intervention from adult characters. The children's interpersonal dynamics and body language are left for young readers to absorb and ponder, and they'll linger over both text and art—and be heartened by Alf's trajectory.
A delightful celebration of acceptance in all its forms. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781662620553
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Astra Young Readers
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.
Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.
There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”
Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781400247417
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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