A positive, age-appropriate, and engaging view of complicated concepts.
A rich glossary to help deepen children’s perspectives on themselves and the world.
The author/illustrator duo behind The Little Book of Joy (2021) present words about feelings (bored, overwhelmed, appreciative), character (accomplish, resilience), the ways we differ from one another (identity, ethnicity), and changemaking (patience, teamwork); the terms are listed alphabetically within each section. One page concisely introduces and explains a concept, like frustrated: What is it, what does it feel like, and what might we do or say when frustrated? The following page offers four steps to take when frustrated, then asks, “What could you say or do if you saw a friend feeling frustrated?” Sometimes, the author suggests that children look for examples of the concept, say an affirmation, engage in moving and breathing exercises, ask questions, or take care of themselves and loved ones. Commendably, both positive (grateful, loved) and negative words (failure, anger) are included. Of the abundant adjectives, numerous nouns, and scattered verbs, the ones most likely to draw attention are those like anti-racism, diversity, and race. Sensitivity and openness characterize the handling of these terms, though the entry on gender doesn’t acknowledge those with nonbinary identities. In flat, pastel vignettes, racially diverse, rosy-cheeked kids (mostly) and adults give concrete form to abstractions.
A positive, age-appropriate, and engaging view of complicated concepts. (note to adults) (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781419767777
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Magic Cat
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40.
From two Nobel Peace Prize winners, an invitation to look past sadness and loneliness to the joy that surrounds us.
Bobbing in the wake of 2016’s heavyweight Book of Joy (2016), this brief but buoyant address to young readers offers an earnest insight: “If you just focus on the thing that is making / you sad, then the sadness is all you see. / But if you look around, you will / see that joy is everywhere.” López expands the simply delivered proposal in fresh and lyrical ways—beginning with paired scenes of the authors as solitary children growing up in very different circumstances on (as they put it) “opposite sides of the world,” then meeting as young friends bonded by streams of rainbow bunting and going on to share their exuberantly hued joy with a group of dancers diverse in terms of age, race, culture, and locale while urging readers to do the same. Though on the whole this comes off as a bit bland (the banter and hilarity that characterized the authors’ recorded interchanges are absent here) and their advice just to look away from the sad things may seem facile in view of what too many children are inescapably faced with, still, it’s hard to imagine anyone in the world more qualified to deliver such a message than these two. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48423-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
© 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.
