A lovely example of young people taking small steps toward sustainability.
Take a tree for a walk, share some shade, and build a happy community.
Lily and her father live in a gray city with lots of buildings but few trees. Remembering the lush and verdant forest she once visited, she asks her father for a tree for their tiny balcony. He obliges, and she names it George. One morning, she decides to show George around the neighborhood. Carting the potted tree about in a wagon, she meets Mrs. Lee, who feels hot and uncomfortable. George’s leaves provide cool shade, and Mrs. Lee offers Lily an orange in thanks. Later, Lily’s friends enjoy the shade so much that they get their own trees to take around the neighborhood. Soon, the ever increasing grove of trees is providing shade to folks throughout the community and transforming the once-gray city into a colorful, joyful forest. Gay’s multimedia illustrations effectively and poignantly portray Lily’s community-beautification project through vibrant washes of yellows, blues, greens, and pinks. A gatefold spread shows in glorious detail just how vibrant and alive the neighborhood has become. The prose is straightforward, and visual cues in the accompanying art will help kids hone their reading skills. In an author’s note, Gay says that she was inspired by an art project in the Netherlands in which volunteers walked potted trees around the city. Lily, her father, and Mrs. Lee are light-skinned; the neighborhood is diverse.
A lovely example of young people taking small steps toward sustainability. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781773069760
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
An uplifting tale of family connection and self-discovery.
Drawing inspiration from her rescue dog Clyde, Emmy-winning actor Aniston tells the story of a pooch seeking his passion.
The Clyde family are a talented bunch of canines: Uncle Clydester adores surfing, Auntie Clydette digs for dinosaur bones, and Great-Grandma Cly-Clyde dances salsa. “Everyone [has] something that [makes] them stand out”—except for young Clydeo, who doesn’t feel special. Clydeo sets out to discover what he loves, guided by an optimistic mantra: “Take a bite out of life, I always say!” As he tries out various relatives’ hobbies, he asks for advice: How will he know when he’s found his “thing”? Grandpa Clyderton, the daredevil, says that his passion makes him “light up.” Second cousin Clydesto, who paints blindfolded, says that art makes his world brighter. Plucky, persistent Clydeo keeps searching. He finds answers while helping his mother cook for a big family meal. “Clydeo [feels] a warm feeling in his belly…He love[s] his family, and he love[s] cooking for them.” Clydeo’s notion of taking a bite out of life proves to be his thing—cooking. The alliteration of the family members’ names, their kernels of wisdom, and the book’s lovable protagonist make for a pleasurable, meaningful read. Jacob’s illustrations of big-eyed, expressive dogs exude charm and personality and make searching for one’s passion seem like utter joy.
An uplifting tale of family connection and self-discovery. (author’s note, photos) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780063372368
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
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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