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THIS IS MY TREEHOUSE

Name: THIS IS MY TREEHOUSE
Author: Guillaume Gueraud
ISBN: 9781782508557

by Guillaume Gueraud ; illustrated by Alfred ; translated by Polly Lawson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 24, 2024

A satisfying fantastical journey that speaks to the power of fantasy and the importance of finding one’s sanctuary.

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A spirited imagination transports a youngster to faraway places.

A pale-skinned child whose face is never visible in the illustrations has built a treehouse sanctuary in the forest behind Grandma and Grandpa’s garden. While sitting in this humble arboreal abode, the young narrator fantasizes about the treehouse transforming into everything from a ship “on a rolling ocean, full of fierce battleships” to a palace “full of jealous princes and princesses fighting over who should rule the land.” In the end, the treehouse represents the child’s “wildest adventures and biggest dreams.” Building upon imaginative play, a core childhood skill, this story allows readers to believe in worlds beyond what they see in front of them and gives them license to think creatively. The text alternates between describing concrete realities (the treehouse’s small size, its lack of a bathroom) and the protagonist’s fantasies, accompanied by saturated pencil, watercolor, and ink illustrations. Each spread includes spot art depicting the real-life objects the protagonist relies on, in the same palette as the main image. The text is occasionally halting, possibly a result of the translation (the title was originally published in French). Still, young readers will relate to the premise.

A satisfying fantastical journey that speaks to the power of fantasy and the importance of finding one’s sanctuary. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024

ISBN: 9781782508557

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Floris

Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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
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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BUDDY'S NEW BUDDY

From the Growing With Buddy series , Vol. 3

by Christina Geist ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022

Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient.

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How do you make a new friend when an old one moves away?

Buddy (from Sorry, Grown-Ups, You Can’t Go to School, 2019, etc.) is feeling lonely. His best friend just moved across town. To make matters worse, there is a field trip coming up, and Buddy needs a bus partner. His sister, Lady, has some helpful advice for making a new pal: “You just need to find something you have in common.” Buddy loves the game Robo Chargers and karate. Surely there is someone else who does, too! Unfortunately, there isn’t. However, when a new student arrives (one day later) and asks everyone to call her Sunny instead of Alison, Buddy gets excited. No one uses his given name, either; they just call him Buddy. He secretly whispers his “real, official name” to Sunny at lunch—an indication that a true friendship is being formed. The rest of the story plods merrily along, all pieces falling exactly into place (she even likes Robo Chargers!), accompanied by Bowers’ digital art, a mix of spot art and full-bleed illustrations. Friendship-building can be an emotionally charged event in a child’s life—young readers will certainly see themselves in Buddy’s plight—but, alas, there is not much storytelling magic to be found. Buddy and his family are White, Sunny and Mr. Teacher are Black, and Buddy’s other classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient. (Picture book. 4-7)