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I HEAR YOU, MOUNTAINS

Name: I HEAR YOU, MOUNTAINS
Author: Kallie George
ISBN: 9781771647427

From the Sounds of Nature series

by Kallie George ; illustrated by Carmen Mok ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2024

Likely to sharpen nature-listening skills, this is ideal for sharing before a mountain hike of your own.

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On a fall hike in the mountains, a small group listens to the world around them.

An adult and three children—a preschooler with light brown skin and curly hair in two puffs and two school-age children, one with light skin, short blond hair, and a knit cap, the other sporting glasses and sharing the beige skin tone and dark hair of the adult—set off on a hike. “The mountains have lots to say… / if you listen.” Each subsequent spread starts with an onomatopoeic sound and the children recognizing the noisemaker: “Chirr, chirr. / I hear you, Chipmunk, / chattering cheerfully. / Would you like / to hike with us?” On their way to the summit, they also hear a waterfall, rustling branches, bouncing pine cones, birds hoping for dropped crumbs, footsteps, a snoring bear (imagined), snowflakes, and an echo. George highlights sights and sounds accessible to most children who are exploring the mountains, making this an adventure that young ones can replicate, especially since Mok depicts the characters taking frequent breaks to rest, snack, or satisfy their curiosity. The youngest child hitches a ride partway but is still able to tackle the terrain, and the group’s efforts have a satisfying payoff.

Likely to sharpen nature-listening skills, this is ideal for sharing before a mountain hike of your own. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024

ISBN: 9781771647427

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Greystone Kids

Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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by Kallie George ; illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman

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by Kallie George ; illustrated by Sara Gillingham

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by Kallie George ; illustrated by Birgitta Sif

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | 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)