Infectiously delightful.
A shy girl bonds with new friends through the wonders of imagination in this Canadian collaboration.
Ellie spends the summer with her grandmother at the beach. Too nervous to approach the other children, the young white girl keeps mostly to herself making sand castles and playing in the cool water until, while collecting pebbles, she happens upon Piper, an older girl of color who has a magic boat. Ellie is skeptical at first, but her doubts disappear as Piper takes them out to sea, racing on the water and surrounded by marine life. Moments later, the girls are flying as the boat turns into a balloon, and they share the sky with several birds and an intrepid ladybug. That is, until Nonna calls the pair to lunch. Pearson and Farris’ prose moves seamlessly from the easy unhurriedness of summer play to the weightier awe of discovery. Grimard keeps visual pace with warm watercolors and pencil-sketched shading and lines that feel light but never fluffy, capturing the dynamic fluidity between real and pretend. The illustrations do, at times, feel as though they are missing some elements mentioned in the text—the emphasis on discovery prompts readers to scour the pages for the wildlife being mentioned, for instance. But an overall and well-developed theme of imagination and connection (even when you’re nervous) far outweighs the small gaps.
Infectiously delightful. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1432-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
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
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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