A useful book for elementary schoolers still struggling with big emotions.
A boy helps his nervous friend get ready for summer camp in this illustrated children’sbook about coping with difficult feelings.
Best friends Milo and Bobby always meet at the same big tree during their walks to school. One day, Milo seems upset. When he confesses to Bobby that he’s excited but scared about going to summer camp, Bobby assures him he’ll be fine. Milo’s feelings are hurt: “Milo couldn’t believe Bobby didn’t understand what a big deal this was!” With his emotions all mixed up, Milo later avoids their special tree, and Bobby wonders what he should do. Finally, he has a memory of his own first day of camp; he’d been so excited to go, but suddenly, it all felt too “big,”and he was worried he would hate it. A camp counselor’s wisdom helped him. Bobby races to catch up with Milo and gives him advice involving the word and. He explains that it’s okay to feel a lot of emotions at once, and as soon as Bobby realizes he can be both nervous andexcited at the same time, he has an easier time dealing with his big feelings. Monnerat, a veteran teacher, includes a co-author’s note to describe how the notion of andcan be freeing for children. She and Chalkley use accessible language throughout that never comes across as preachy; instead, the story feels like a conversation with a friend. The dialogue, in word bubbles that follow the characters across pages, is likely to help reluctant readers follow the conversation, and large images of emotion-related terms, sometimes in a jumble, aptly depict the sense of feelings in conflict. Some of Hopkins’ full-color cartoon illustrations seem unpolished, especially in smaller panels that lack detail, but the combination of pencil work and painted backgrounds effectively communicates the lesson. The final pages offer a fill-in-the-blank description of Milo’s first day at camp, as well as an emotion-themed puzzle.
A useful book for elementary schoolers still struggling with big emotions.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2022
ISBN: 979-8985011012
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Kettlepot Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
BOOK REVIEW
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