by Kathy Wolff ; illustrated by Richard Byrne ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 4, 2017
A clever way to usher kids to the bus with a smile.
George is about to dash out the door to school. But what has he forgotten?
George is a small white tot with a mop of brown hair and a button nose, and he never forgets anything. Except for…all the times that he does. He’s standing at the front door in consternation. He knows that he has forgotten something, he’s just not quite sure what. He replays the morning in his mind to figure it out. Has he remembered to wake up? Yes. Has he remembered to eat breakfast? Yes. (He even remembered to stick his toast to his sister’s face with yogurt so she had whiskers.) Has he remembered to put on his yellow-and-red dotted underpants? Yes. He just can’t figure it out. Suddenly it hits him. He has forgotten his shoes! Confident and happy, he runs to the bus. As the point of view pans out, giggly readers will realize he has forgotten something even more important than shoes. Good thing his sister’s on the ball. George’s morning routine is haphazard and silly, full of important duties such as racing a slinky down the stairs and finding four and a half things to fit into the hole where his tooth used to be.
A clever way to usher kids to the bus with a smile. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61963-871-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
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by Kathy Wolff ; illustrated by Acamy Schleikorn
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by Kevin Jonas & Danielle Jonas ; illustrated by Courtney Dawson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2022
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
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by Kevin Jonas & Danielle Jonas ; illustrated by Courtney Dawson
by George Shannon ; illustrated by Blanca Gómez ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2015
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts.
A playful counting book also acts as a celebration of family and human diversity.
Shannon’s text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. “One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly’s legs. One family.” Gomez’s richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For “six,” a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text’s culminating assertion that “One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.”
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-374-30003-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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by George Shannon ; illustrated by Jennifer K. Mann
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