Family bonding at its sweetest.
A child recalls beloved seaside visits.
Grandad and the young protagonist used to love going to their favorite place. After making their way through the Wonky Woods, past the whooshing trains and the “spotty dogs,” they would arrive at a picturesque spot known as Pebble Beach. The child remembers days filled with imaginative play that always ended with each of them picking up a tiny stone before heading to an abandoned rowboat to paint their pebbles. A glimpse at the many pebbles that have accumulated in the old boat makes it clear that these two have kept up this routine for a long time. But one day Grandad moves away; now the child makes the journey with Mam. They select their pebbles and bring them to Grandad—who appears to have relocated to a nursing home—and Grandad and child continue their tradition despite their new circumstances. Jarvis doesn’t explain why Grandad moves, though a propped-up cane by the sofa suggests that he’s slowed down a bit in his old age. Rendered in a muted palette, Jarvis’ scribbly, naïve artwork complements a quietly joyful text that homes in on simple but memorable moments: Grandad and the child trying to guess the name of a seal they notice, sea gulls devouring Grandad’s ice cream. Jarvis makes it clear that though change is inevitable, our memories endure.
Family bonding at its sweetest. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781536242966
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
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
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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