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 friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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