Gentle encouragement to cultivate mindfulness that leads by example.
A love letter to the quotidian.
Young Alice adores her neighborhood. When she sees a neighbor in a bad mood due to a road closure, she writes a letter to the street praising it for its “tall maple trees and marigolds that look like pom-poms” and leaves it for someone to find. Her new tradition continues throughout the seasons. In the summer, she overhears people complaining about the park being too crowded and noisy, so she writes the park a letter. In autumn, she writes to the maple tree and in winter to the snow, each time brightening the moods of those who happen upon her letters. When spring arrives, Alice is the one having a grumpy day, but she finds her spirits lifted by a letter to the crocuses left by someone else. Zier-Vogel’s prose is straightforward and uplifting, and Bonne-Müller’s bright illustrations, created with acrylic, pencil, and crayon, rely on a well-paced variety of spot art and spreads, depict a charming, idyllic neighborhood. While the story is somewhat quiet, the author’s note will inspire mindfulness and appreciation—Zier-Vogel describes the Love Lettering Project, which she created in 2004 and which invites people to hide love letters to places in their community for others to find. Alice has peach-colored skin and straight brown hair; her neighborhood is a diverse one. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Gentle encouragement to cultivate mindfulness that leads by example. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781525303104
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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