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I’M FROM

Name: I’M FROM
Author: Gary R. Gray Jr.
ISBN: 9780063089969

by Gary R. Gray Jr. ; illustrated by Oge Mora ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 19, 2023

An origin story for the ages—intimate, poetic, singular, and broadly relatable.

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For some, “Where are you from?” has a geographical answer, but this kid offers a thoughtful and poignant alternative perspective.

As the Black narrator begins the day, waking in a toy- and book-filled room and rising from a bed covered by a tapestry that showcases the layered textured papers and gouache paints of Mora’s illustrations, he recalls where—and what and who—he comes from. It’s an ostensibly average day—enjoying a favorite breakfast of pan-fried bologna and pancakes with the fam, admiring the assortment of hairstyles on the school bus, from his own fade to the “laid edges” of a peer, hearing raucous kids earning a stern word from the bus driver, and making it through a long school day of learning. But the boy also encounters racialized comments—scribbled in frenetic large type across a full-page spread—from the other kids that make him visibly uncomfortable: “Can I touch your hair?” “You don’t sound Black.” “Where are you from?” But the answers he ultimately offers readers are as tasty as “buttermilk biscuits” or as touching as “bear-tight cuddles,” as soft as pecks on the cheek or as far-reaching as the hopes and dreams of his family. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An origin story for the ages—intimate, poetic, singular, and broadly relatable. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023

ISBN: 9780063089969

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
SPENDIN' TIME
by Gary R. Gray Jr. ; illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell

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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
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

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

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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THE PUMPKIN THIEF

From the Leaf Thief series

by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2026

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.

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Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.

Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)