A reassuring, if not empowering, exploration of the disability experience.
In this follow-up to What Happened to You? (2023), Joe, who’s missing a leg, contends with scrutiny.
Joe is amazing. Everybody says so—whether he’s hanging on the monkey bars, eating ice cream, or even scratching his bottom. Joe thinks that speedy, athletic Simone is amazing, but onlookers only ever compliment Joe. Joe tries to be invisible so that everyone will praise Simone’s moves. But the parent of one of the kids at the park mistakes his hiding for self-pity and cajoles him to run and jump. Reluctantly, Joe complies, “because being Amazing Joe [is] better than being Poor Joe”—a bind that disabled readers in particular will recognize. All readers, however, will sympathize with Joe’s discomfort as playground visitors point and stare. Tired of “The Joe Show,” Joe practices soccer with a pal and experiences something truly amazing: scoring goals after many tries. The authors’ depiction of strangers’ well-meaning yet patronizing behavior, brought to life by George’s expressive cartoon illustrations, is uncomfortably realistic. The only solution that the book offers, however, is for Joe to surround himself with friends who accept him for who he is: “just Joe.” While supportive friends are helpful, disabled readers may desire concrete tips for directly addressing awkward interactions; moreover, the book seems to imply that disabled people must simply learn to put up with condescending remarks. Joe presents white, Simone is brown-skinned, and background characters are racially diverse.
A reassuring, if not empowering, exploration of the disability experience. (authors’ note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9780316506571
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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