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THIS IS HOW WE PLAY

Name: THIS IS HOW WE PLAY
Author: Jessica Slice
ISBN: 9780593529904

A CELEBRATION OF DISABILITY & ADAPTATION

by Jessica Slice & Caroline Cupp ; illustrated by Kayla Harren ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 24, 2024

A wonderfully inclusive celebration of disability and family.

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Whether they “sing, learn, sign” or “stim, dance, crawl,” families who are diverse in terms of ability—all based on real people—enjoy a fun-filled day.

A grandpa cheers as a child who uses a prosthetic leg plays basketball; a child explores the boardwalk with Mama, who drives a mouth-controlled wheelchair; kids play puppets with an aunt who appears to be developmentally disabled and lives independently with a nurse’s help—all amply demonstrating the refrain: “With love and adaptation, this is how we play!” A father signs a bedtime story, and the families’ busy day winds down: “With love and adaptation, this is how we… // ZZZZZ….” Though the rhyming text occasionally feels forced, Slice and Cupp, themselves disabled, realistically acknowledge challenges while keeping an upbeat, reassuring tone. They note that sometimes “bodies are not much fun. / They hurt and ache—can’t jump or run.” The accompanying image shows a child and an adult who uses a walker and takes medication; the two, on “days like this…love to cuddle. / Read our stories, nap and snuggle.” Harren’s detailed portrayals of myriad physical, sensory, and developmental conditions warmly embrace disability’s broad spectrum, and characters’ faces radiate love and enthusiasm. Backmatter includes a glossary of depicted conditions (unfortunately describing Braille as a language rather than a writing system) and tips for caregivers on addressing disability with children. Characters are racially diverse.

A wonderfully inclusive celebration of disability and family. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024

ISBN: 9780593529904

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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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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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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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)