Emphasizing connection and care, this book shines a thoughtful light on children with mood disorders.
How can Elijah support their brother Manny through his “mood clouds”?
Elijah’s older brother Manny’s emotions change quickly and are so big they seem like colorful clouds above his head: red when he’s angry; blue when he’s sad and wants to be alone; purple when “he is very panicked and scared of everything”; and yellow when he’s “so happy, that he doesn’t know what to do with himself.” Manny’s unpredictable mood shifts are hard on Elijah—“I get scared when I see his yellow cloud turn red without warning.” But with the help of their supportive parents, Manny’s therapist, and Manny himself, Elijah learns that “we can’t control the color of Manny’s clouds, but we can try and help him work through his feelings.” Examples of helpful activities that siblings can do together are matched with particular mood clouds, giving families ideas of how they can support loved ones who have mood disorders. Alongside Ubidia’s lively cartoon illustrations, this picture book sensitively frames Elijah’s process in understanding Manny’s mood disorder. With the focus on Elijah (depicted with brown skin and short, curly brown hair) rather than Manny (a brown-skinned boy with a high-top fade), this story is more ideal for family members than children with mood disorders themselves. Backmatter, written by licensed clinical psychologist Aimee Daramus, offers tips and resources for adults. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Emphasizing connection and care, this book shines a thoughtful light on children with mood disorders. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-83997-495-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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