A thought-provoking tale with a much-needed message: The mind is a place of limitless wonders.
Wondering is fun, and children deserve to know that no one else thinks exactly like they do.
The pale-skinned, bespectacled narrator assures readers at the outset that if they’re curious about things, there’s a place to go “to question and daydream and let your brain grow.” Where? “It’s right in your head, in your thinker, your mind.” This child has clearly explored this terrain before and lets kids know that “not all the questions need answers defined.” The narrator delivers charming examples in lilting verse: “Where does the wind go? / And where does it rest? / Do rainbows have homes? / In a shell or a nest?” Readers may never have considered those imponderables before, but they will now, thanks to this wise, stimulating book that also delivers a gentle message about mindfulness: “Slow down and breathe in, all the way to your heart. Eyes closed and mind open, your journey will start.” Notably, kids are reminded that thinking doesn’t require equipment or technology: “Brains are like magic, they make their own joy. They really don’t need lights, screens, or toys.” Children will be intrigued to learn that grown-ups themselves ponder some of the queries included here; adults sharing this volume should encourage kids to discuss questions occupying their minds. The colorful, imaginative illustrations serve the text very well. Background characters are diverse.
A thought-provoking tale with a much-needed message: The mind is a place of limitless wonders. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781685550516
Page Count: 32
Publisher: The Collective Book Studio
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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