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LUNCH EVERY DAY

Name: LUNCH EVERY DAY
Author: Kathryn Otoshi
ISBN: 978-1-73434-820-0

by Kathryn Otoshi ; illustrated by Kathryn Otoshi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 7, 2021

A sensitively told conversation starter for children about abuse, power dynamics, and compassion.

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A boy befriends his bully and, with the help of his mother, keeps the bully fed daily at school.

Based on a true story, this is dedicated to educator Jim Perez and to “the lady who kept making all those lunches for him, day after day.” In the first spread, readers stand right behind Jimmy, who daily targets the same kid, a boy eating lunch alone. Instead of standing in the line for free and reduced lunches, Jimmy steals the boy’s bagged meals. Jimmy’s first-person narration reveals abuse at home at the hands of his older brothers. When the bullied boy invites his classmates, including Jimmy, to a birthday party, Jimmy learns his target has his own losses. He also has an unexpected encounter with the boy’s mother, who promises she’ll have her son take “a second lunch…for you, every day.” Illustrations with smudgy, relaxed lines—faces are often indistinct and in shadow—and vivid, emotionally charged colors (Jimmy in dark purples and greens and the other boy and his mother in warm oranges and pinks) animate this tale. Jimmy’s inner thoughts occasionally surround his head in hand-lettering (“don’t yell” when the boy’s mother approaches him), and the use of numbers to count the bagged lunches stolen—and, later, given—are effective. The abrupt ending hints at a lifelong friendship between the boys. The races of the protagonists are unclear due to Otoshi's emotive palette, which paints all characters in blues, reds, greens, and so forth, but they have straight hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sensitively told conversation starter for children about abuse, power dynamics, and compassion. (Picture book. 4-10)

Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-73434-820-0

Page Count: 40

Publisher: KO Kids Books

Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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CALLING THE WIND
by Trudy Ludwig ; illustrated by Kathryn Otoshi

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DRAW THE LINE
by Kathryn Otoshi ; illustrated by Kathryn Otoshi

- PROFILES
Meet Some Picture Book Creators of Fall 2021

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!

John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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)