Lovely and heartfelt if a little off in the pacing.
A young boy dreams of a para siempre—forever—house for his family.
Young Luis cherishes and admires his strong papi, who is a bricklayer. “He helps build the city, brick by brick.” While Luis is at school, Papi is at work, spreading mortar thick, tapping bricks in place, scraping drips, and repeating the process. Luis dreams of a house the Latinx family can call its own, with a garden for Mama and maybe a dog. At midday, Papi eats lunch on a bench while Luis eats in the school cafeteria. Mirrorlike images show both brown-skinned father and son with similar lunchboxes, both eating Mama’s special empanadas. One Saturday, Papi takes Luis for a surprise ride out of the city and into more rural terrain. There, Luis sees a new house made of Papi’s bricks, and Mama is moving their items in. This is illustrator Sheffield’s debut as a picture-book author. She excels with boisterously textured, mixed-media illustrations, many incorporating photographs, digital painting, and collage, capturing vibrant colors. Told in the first person, with minor Spanish interspersed (“horchata,” “una sorpresa,” “fuerte”) and occasional sound effects printed in all-caps (“SCRRRRAPES,” “KERCHUNKS,” “WHIRRRRRRR”), the written text will engage the youngest readers. Her command of pacing, however, is shaky; the sense of elapsed time is unclear, and the ending, though satisfying, is abrupt.
Lovely and heartfelt if a little off in the pacing. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-51730-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A delightfully silly celebration of familial love.
A child in search of the best hugger takes a bedtime tour of the world’s most unusual embraces.
In the opening pages of this rhyming picture book, an unnamed narrator asks a curly-haired, tan-skinned child who they think gives the best hugs. At the narrator’s behest, the protagonist spends their bedtime routine receiving affection from a wacky cast of creatures, ranging from meerkats to porcupines to narwhals. These animals have a variety of body types, but even those with a lack of limbs still express their love; the seahorse, for example, gives the child a “smooch” right before bathtime, and a grinning cobra offers the child a “clinch,” wrapping itself around their leg. Although many of the animals prove to be more prickly than cozy—the narrator points out, for example, the sharpness of bird beaks and porcupine quills—even the snuggliest koalas and bears cannot compare to the best hug of all: a parent’s embrace right before bedtime. The use of second-person address combined with the protagonist’s beautifully illustrated facial expressions and the buoyant, clever lines of verse render this book a hilarious and whimsical ride sure to delight both children and the adults who read to them. The pictures and text work together to create a clear narrative arc for the protagonist, and though the ending is a bit predictable, it’s nevertheless a wonderful payoff. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A delightfully silly celebration of familial love. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5476-1236-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
