DON'T CROSS THE LINE!

Name: DON'T CROSS THE LINE!
Author: Isabel Minhós Martins
ISBN: 978-1-776570-74-4

by Isabel Minhós Martins ; illustrated by Bernardo P. Carvalho ; translated by Daniel Hahn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2016

The takeaway is an important one: peaceful questioning of authority can lead to quiet revolution.

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An armed guard stands in the gutter of the book, refusing passage to the other side no matter how much the growing crowd pleads.

The story opens to a vast, blank, double-page spread, except for a lone, white guard and a tiny dog. A page turn reveals a white person walking into view from the left. As that person attempts to enter the recto page, the guard yells a ferocious “STOP!” When pressed for a reason, the guard simply says, “My general reserves the right to keep the page blank, so he can join the story whenever he feels like it.” More people (and creatures) come as the pages turn, until the left-hand side is packed. When a red ball innocently bounces across the border, everyone freezes. The guard allows two children to retrieve the ball, and suddenly the floodgates open. The crowd swarms across. When Gen. Alcazar sees the disobeying mob, he tries to arrest the guard, but the crowd overthrows him. This abstract tale can be read many ways. A musing on order versus disorder, tyranny and revolution, or perhaps the most prevalent of late—immigration. Childlike illustrations in colorful marker and comical hidden identities (a certain extraterrestrial really wants to cross to make a phone call) lighten the tone. The endpapers show the entire cast of characters (the humans mostly white), which adds an element of seek-and-find as well.

The takeaway is an important one: peaceful questioning of authority can lead to quiet revolution. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-776570-74-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Gecko Press

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
PLASTICUS MARITIMUS
by Ana Pêgo & Isabel Minhós Martins ; illustrated by Bernado P. Carvalho ; translated by Jane Springer

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WHAT'S THAT NOISE?
by Isabel Minhós Martins ; illustrated by Madalena Matoso

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORLD IN A SECOND
by Isabel Minhós Martins ; illustrated by Bernardo P. Carvalho ; translated by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

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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.

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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: yesterday

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

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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)