Hoo doesn’t love a sweet story about grandmas? (Picture book. 3-6)
A child fears the loss of his grandmother’s love.
Young barn owl Ollie gets a big surprise when Grandma introduces him to his new baby cousin, Lily. An even bigger—and unhappier—surprise is that Grandma seemingly loves the baby more and pays her lots more attention. Lily’s charming baby antics and attempts to play don’t persuade Ollie that she’s any fun. When Grandma continues to gush over her, cooing endearments Ollie thinks belong only to him, he’s stricken with jealousy at first. When snack time brings forth only half a cookie for each grandkid, that does it: Ollie breaks down in tears, convinced he doesn’t possess Grandma’s whole heart any longer. Grandma plausibly explains the meager portion. More importantly, she earnestly explains that a grandmother’s love never dims, helping Ollie feel better about himself and the infant. Youngsters dealing with a new sibling or new relative who appears to dominate the family landscape will feel Ollie’s pain here. They will be heartened by the tender, reassuring message that “When a new baby comes along, a grandma grows new love!” The endearing illustrations, rendered in soft browns, white, teal, and purple and featuring a lively trio of winsome, fluffy, and very expressive owls, are delightful and will capture readers’ attention and hearts.
Hoo doesn’t love a sweet story about grandmas? (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-042-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Lackluster.
A parent and child introduce a way to make daily separations a bit easier.
At school drop-off, a parent rabbit comforts a sad child and hands the little one a heart-shaped object: “I’m giving you my heart to hold / whenever I’m not there.” The heart is meant to remind the child of the parent’s love, celebrate the things the child does well, calm worries, express joy, and watch over the child through the night. The book fails to spell out just how the heart does anything other than serve as a reminder of parental love, however. For instance, “Wave the heart above your head / to sing a happy song.” What’s the connection there? The heart is always in the child’s possession, even when the little bunny is with the parent, contradicting the opening premise that it’s for when the two are apart. Most troublingly, unlike a kissing hand, the wooden keepsake heart that comes with the book could easily be lost; with the statements that it’s the parent’s heart and that the love in the heart will never end, losing the token could be quite upsetting. The artwork features adorable cartoon anthropomorphic animals of various species, two of which use wheelchairs. The font sometimes fills in the centers of the lowercase g, o, a, and p letters with hearts, which may cause difficulties for youngsters reading on their own or for those with dyslexia.
Lackluster. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781680102970
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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.
