A charming story about finding your place.
A nonbinary child does whatever they can to get out of going to church on Sunday in Shoemaker’s LGBTQ+ picture book.
“At home, Silas can be whoever they want” to be. Over the course of their week, they are a star quarterback, then a graceful ballerina in a pink tutu, then a famous paleontologist. But on Sundays, Silas’s parents make them go to church, the one place they don’t feel like they can be themselves, stuffed into a suit and made to sit still. Silas has many clever tricks to get out of going, but their parents recognize their anxiety and devise a plan to show their child a welcoming place to worship where they will feel safe to be who they are. Pratiwi’s illustrations are colorful and kinetic, bringing to life Silas’s active imagination and the joy in their homebound adventures. While most of the book’s activities are portrayed as pretend, Shoemaker demonstrates that Silas is equally resourceful in the real world, turning back their parents’ clock to avoid another Sunday. The book’s message is refreshing: Even confident LGBTQ+ children can chafe under rigid rules that force them to present in ways that don’t fit, particularly when they’re unsure if allies or others like them will be present. Like the best children’s books, this one offers an important lesson for kids and adults alike.
A charming story about finding your place.Pub Date: June 4, 2024
ISBN: 9781957833132
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Wildling Press
Review Posted Online: June 6, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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