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HENRY'S PICTURE-PERFECT DAY

Name: HENRY'S PICTURE-PERFECT DAY
Author: Jenn Bailey
ISBN: 9781797230252

BOOK 3

From the Henry series , Vol. 3

by Jenn Bailey ; illustrated by Mika Song ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2025

Another charming outing for this winsome protagonist.

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It’s Picture Day for Henry and the other kids in Classroom Ten.

Some of the students are excited, but Henry, who appears to be on the autism spectrum, can’t help fidgeting in his uncomfortable clothes. Their teacher, Mrs. Tanaka, receives word that the photographer is running late. What should the class do while they wait? Mrs. Tanaka discourages any suggestion that involves getting messy, and the class settles on having a snack. When Henry bites into his carrot stick, something goes snap! One of his teeth is now loose, and soon it pops out completely. But where did his tooth go? His friends help him search among the supply of dirt the class recently used to plant beans—an accidentally messy activity. Henry’s shirt might be smeared with dirt, and his smile might have a gap, but Mrs. Tanaka says that pictures aren’t about looking perfect; they’re about commemorating “special times and special friends.” Henry realizes that the best way to do that is by being himself. Once again, Bailey has created a conscientious portrayal of a child who marches to the beat of his own drum yet who always feels included. The sense of community within Henry’s diverse class is lovely; everyone makes mistakes but ultimately supports one another. Song’s soft watercolor-and-ink illustrations, rendered in black and white with pops of purple, are wryly insightful, as always. Henry and Mrs. Tanaka present as East Asian.

Another charming outing for this winsome protagonist. (Early chapter book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 18, 2025

ISBN: 9781797230252

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
HENRY AND THE SOMETHING NEW
by Jenn Bailey ; illustrated by Mika Song

- BOOK REVIEW
THE TWELVE HOURS OF CHRISTMAS
by Jenn Bailey ; illustrated by Bea Jackson

- BOOK REVIEW
HENRY, LIKE ALWAYS
by Jenn Bailey ; illustrated by Mika Song

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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)

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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TINY T. REX AND THE IMPOSSIBLE HUG

by Jonathan Stutzman ; illustrated by Jay Fleck ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2019

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.

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With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?

Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)