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THE UGLY PLACE

Name: THE UGLY PLACE
Author: Laura Deal
ISBN: 978-1-77227-432-5

by Laura Deal ; illustrated by Emma Pedersen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 6, 2022

A gentle tribute to the power of nature to help regulate difficult feelings.

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Wearing a red hoodie and a big frown, a child in a foul mood walks through miserable weather on their way to the ugly place.

The ugly place is where the protagonist goes when “things seem ugly and cloudy in my head and I feel a lot of feelings all at once.” The blues and grays of the accompanying landscapes feel wet and dreary, while inanimate objects look on frowning, their expressions echoing the child’s. The light brown–skinned child slops through the rain and mud, leaving a mucky trail across the wet tundra, to the rocky coast where even the fish in the water frown back. When the child finally looks up, however, they notice the sea gulls overhead, the gentle lapping of waves, and the taste of dried salt on their lips. And just like that, a smile appears on the child’s face as well as on the creatures’ in the water. The rain stops, and nature is now welcoming in its beauty. Text and images work together deftly, using sensory descriptions to evoke both the miserable mood and its transformation. Though this transition from inner turmoil to outer peace comes a bit quickly, the meaning is nevertheless clear: Nature heals the heart. And this child knows it. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A gentle tribute to the power of nature to help regulate difficult feelings. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-77227-432-5

Page Count: 28

Publisher: Inhabit Media

Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022

Categories:

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

- BOOK REVIEW
IN THE SKY AT NIGHTTIME
by Laura Deal ; illustrated by Tamara Campeau

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW NIVI GOT HER NAMES
by Laura Deal ; illustrated by Charlene Chua

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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)

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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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)