bookshelf

AVA AND THE RAINBOW (WHO STAYED)

Name: AVA AND THE RAINBOW (WHO STAYED)
Author: Ged Adamson
ISBN: 978-0-06-267080-9

by Ged Adamson ; illustrated by Ged Adamson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 2, 2018

A sweet cautionary tale about a world that requires constant novelty that’s just a little evanescent itself.

bookshelf

Rainbows delight with vivid colors, magical evanescence, and unpredictable appearances.

When Ava sees a smiley-faced rainbow, she makes a wish: “If only you could stay forever.” In her drab, gray room, she dreams that the rainbow remains and awakens to a colorful, transformed town. Tourists invade, the rainbow’s image goes viral, and scholars lecture about rainbows. Despite great hardship during a cold winter, the colorful arc stays in place; but as time goes on, the townspeople ignore the rainbow’s beauty. They even make it an eyesore, a handy surface for posters, neon signs, and antennae. When people arrive to view a Russian water sparrow that’s just stopping over, Ava and the rainbow learn that it may be best for the rainbow to once again become “a rare and precious sight.” A castle at the rainbow’s end on the last double-page spread is the only hint that the book is set in England (Adamson’s home). Ava is white, but there are a few brown-skinned people among the mostly white townspeople and the visitors. Cartoonish, loosely drawn renderings of the people and the buildings contrast with the smoothly fluid rainbow, green fields, and sky in the pencil, watercolor, and Photoshop digital illustrations. Adamson pays homage to Maurice Sendak in a final image of Ava dressed as “Really Rosie” singing to her rainbow friend.

A sweet cautionary tale about a world that requires constant novelty that’s just a little evanescent itself. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-267080-9

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017

Categories:

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

- BOOK REVIEW
THIS IS NOT A POLAR BEAR!
by Barry Timms ; illustrated by Ged Adamson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BEAR, THE BOOK, AND THE BLANKET
by Lou Peacock ; illustrated by Ged Adamson

- BOOK REVIEW
BRIANOSAURUS
by Ged Adamson ; illustrated by Ged Adamson

bookshelf

THE WORLD NEEDS THE WONDER YOU SEE

by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 28, 2025

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.

bookshelf

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORLD NEEDS WHO YOU WERE MADE TO BE
by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney

bookshelf

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...

bookshelf

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)