This expression of a core Jewish value should resonate with readers of all ethnic groups and faiths.
A series of kindhearted acts and good deeds by a community’s residents illustrates how the world can be a better place.
The opening narrative offers a more nuanced and expansive translation of the basic Hebrew idiom than is noted in the subtitle. “It’s everything. It’s all. It’s whole. / Entire. The Most. In Hebrew, it’s kol.… / And what’s kavod? It’s gee! It’s wow. / It’s honor, respect. It’s whoa, holy cow!” The two Hebrew words put together literally translate to “all respect,” making it a powerful message to acknowledge when something good and important is achieved. Various scenarios follow this introduction, depicting a harmonious community of children performing simple altruistic acts that summon a “Kol Hakavod!” Such acts as giving up a seat on the subway for an elderly person, feeding the dog, recycling, giving money to charity, visiting an ailing friend, inviting a new classmate to sit with you, and so on may seem minor but will produce major goodwill. The text rhymes—a little unevenly—and is illustrated with cartoon figures colored digitally (sometimes with bits of fabric swatches that add interest). The cast is made up of an assortment of races and ages, and one child uses a wheelchair. The message is clear: How one conducts oneself throughout life is important—at school, in the community, and beyond.
This expression of a core Jewish value should resonate with readers of all ethnic groups and faiths. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2211-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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