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TANGLE-KNOT

Name: TANGLE-KNOT
Author: Loretta Ellsworth
ISBN: 9781645677130

by Loretta Ellsworth ; illustrated by Annabel Tempest ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 6, 2023

A fantastical but flawed fairy tale.

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A young girl has a bird’s-nest ’do.

Fia “refuses to brush her hair,” much to her mom’s consternation. A gray bird soon takes up residence in the White-presenting girl’s scraggly, bushy coiffure. Soon the bird lays eggs—one red, one yellow, and one blue—in Fia’s “tangle-knot nest,” attracting attention, some of it judgmental but most of it encouraging, from others, including a TV crew. Fia takes good care of the nest, refusing to wash her hair in order to keep it safe, and eventually the eggs hatch into red, yellow, and blue birds. When the birds leave, Fia finally decides that it’s time for a new style, to her mother’s relief, and her shorn tangle-knot becomes a tree-bound nest. This could be a very relatable story for any child who hates running a comb through frizzy knots or who longs to have a live-in pet (or four), but the prose gets bogged down by unnecessary dialogue tags and written descriptions that are better shown through the jaunty, energetic illustrations. However, it also raises thought-provoking questions about whether a child of color would receive the same admiration if they showed up to school with an unkempt head of hair, and many children will likely get distracted wondering where the birds go to the bathroom. Fia’s mother presents White; the supporting cast is diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A fantastical but flawed fairy tale. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 6, 2023

ISBN: 9781645677130

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Page Street

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

- BOOK REVIEW
UNFORGETTABLE
by Loretta Ellsworth

- BOOK REVIEW
IN SEARCH OF MOCKINGBIRD
by Loretta Ellsworth

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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)