Third in a series, the book easily stands alone. Among all the picture-book friendship stories, this one stands out for the...
The two animal friends, a pig and a bunny, from Me and You and Without You (2009, 2011) are back in a return engagement as they attempt to put on a play, but will their emotions get in the way?
An orange sheet clipped to a clothesline becomes the backdrop as the pig says: “Where are you? The stage is ready. Let’s put on a play!” “ I’m too shy,” answers the bunny. The pig replies, “So? I’M shy, too!” So begins an exchange of feelings on opposite pages in point-counterpoint style. On verso, the bunny says, “[W]hen I’m scared, I freeze like this”; ears and tiptoes crossed, the bunny holds its front paws up to its chin and gazes, wide-eyed, out at readers. On the opposite page, the pig says, “Oh, when I’M scared, I SCREAM like this,” arms out, head back, mouth wide open and tail jagged with fright. The pig wants to play pirates on a shipwreck, but the bunny wants to sing a duet dressed as sunflowers. This causes a rift in the friendship that goes from mad to glad. The characters are nameless and therefore universal, and as conveyed totally in dialogue, the soft-edged message hits home with childlike simplicity. Though there are no quotation marks, the consistent placement of dialogue on the page and differentiating typefaces keep readers on track; the bunny’s sunflower bonnet and pig’s pirate hat work nicely as unifying design elements (down to the endpapers).
Third in a series, the book easily stands alone. Among all the picture-book friendship stories, this one stands out for the younger set. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-894786-39-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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