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A GIFT FOR MAMA

Treat this lovely story as a gift worth sharing.

An earnest boy walks the streets of turn-of-the-20th-century Vienna, seeking the perfect present for his mother’s birthday.

Lodding begins in the morning with Oskar peering “wide-eyed into the shop windows” of the bustling city, where “[s]hoppers and sellers filled the streets, and carriages clippity-clopped against the cobblestones.” The descriptive language reveals a task to be completed. He must find something to buy his mother even though he has but one coin. Oskar spots a striking yellow rose and promptly buys it. But an artist admires his flower and trades him a paintbrush for the bloom. Oskar then decides this will be the perfect item with which to paint his mother a picture. Agreeable and ever helpful Oskar then encounters a conductor, a writer and the empress, and a trade occurs each time. As the sun begins to set, he runs along the Danube, eager to present his gift to his mother…until he notices a girl crying. He discovers that she is in a similar predicament and decides to give the girl his gift even if that means he is left with nothing. When all seems hopeless, a tap on the shoulder from the girl reveals a most beautiful and familiar resolution. The beauty and warmth of the tale is skillfully matched in Jay’s glowing illustrations that appear to have an aged, crackled finish.

Treat this lovely story as a gift worth sharing. (note) (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 25, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-385-75331-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

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

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THE WORLD NEEDS THE WONDER YOU SEE

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.

Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.

There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025

ISBN: 9781400247417

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tommy Nelson

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025

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