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HENRY AND BEA

Name: HENRY AND BEA
Author: Jessixa Bagley
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4284-3

by Jessixa Bagley ; illustrated by Jessixa Bagley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 8, 2019

An excellent choice for themes of friendship and trust.

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Henry stops speaking to his best friend, Bea, but Bea is still there for him when he needs a friend.

Henry and Bea understand each other, and that’s why they are best friends. They always have fun together and are pictured reading inside a tent, playing hide-and-seek, sharing a cookie, and watching the clouds. Then one day, Henry seems “quiet and sad.” He wants to be alone, and even an announcement about a field trip to a farm doesn’t make him excited. At the farm, though, Bea gently offers her company to Henry. Finally, when they are alone, Henry reveals that his beloved cat died. Bea sits with him as he cries and helps him say goodbye to his friend. When they rejoin the group in order to take shelter from a storm, Bea implicitly understands that she shouldn’t tell anyone about what he shared. On the final picture, a rainbow peeks through the storm clouds as the friends share cookies once more. Bagley’s artwork creates an emotionally resonant experience, with the use of white space, perspective, and the expanse of the double-page spread to communicate emotional closeness, distance, and isolation. Readers will be invested in this simple, elegantly told tale and will not be disappointed at its conclusion. Henry is white, Bea is brown, and their classmates are fairly diverse.

An excellent choice for themes of friendship and trust. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-8234-4284-3

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House

Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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DEAR JACKIE
by Jessixa Bagley ; illustrated by Aaron Bagley

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JAZZY THE WITCH IN BROOM DOOM
by Jessixa Bagley ; illustrated by Jessixa Bagley

- BOOK REVIEW
DUEL
by Jessixa Bagley ; illustrated by Aaron Bagley

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THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING

by Ashley Spires ; illustrated by Ashley Spires ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle...

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Making things is difficult work. Readers will recognize the stages of this young heroine’s experience as she struggles to realize her vision.

First comes anticipation. The artist/engineer is spotted jauntily pulling a wagonload of junkyard treasures. Accompanied by her trusty canine companion, she begins drawing plans and building an assemblage. The narration has a breezy tone: “[S]he makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” The colorful caricatures and creations contrast with the digital black outlines on a white background that depict an urban neighborhood. Intermittent blue-gray panels break up the white expanses on selected pages showing sequential actions. When the first piece doesn’t turn out as desired, the protagonist tries again, hoping to achieve magnificence. A model of persistence, she tries many adjustments; the vocabulary alone offers constructive behaviors: she “tinkers,” “wrenches,” “fiddles,” “examines,” “stares” and “tweaks.” Such hard work, however, combines with disappointing results, eventually leading to frustration, anger and injury. Explosive emotions are followed by defeat, portrayed with a small font and scaled-down figures. When the dog, whose expressions have humorously mirrored his owner’s through each phase, retrieves his leash, the resulting stroll serves them well. A fresh perspective brings renewed enthusiasm and—spoiler alert—a most magnificent scooter sidecar for a loyal assistant.

Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle characterization for maximum delight. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-55453-704-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
BYE BYE, BUTTERFLY
developed by Ashley Spires ; adapted by Naseem Hrab ; illustrated by Mike Shiell

- BOOK REVIEW
NO MOUSIE LEFT BEHIND
developed by Ashley Spires ; adapted by Naseem Hrab ; illustrated by Mike Shiell

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MOST MAGNIFICENT MAKER'S A TO Z
by Ashley Spires ; illustrated by Ashley Spires

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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)