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MAY I COME IN?

Name: MAY I COME IN?
Author: Marsha Diane Arnold
ISBN: 978-1-58536-394-0

by Marsha Diane Arnold ; illustrated by Jennie Poh ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 15, 2018

Lovely artwork combined with goodwill toward men.

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Thunderstorms are for sharing.

“Rain poured. / Raccoon shivered. / Thunder roared. / Raccoon quivered.” Raccoon is not altogether comfortable alone in his den as the storm outside rages. Nevertheless, he braves the wet night in order to find some company with whom he can share his collywobbles. In a narrative composed of onomatopoeia and occasional verse, Raccoon travels through the woods, dropping in on Possum, Quail, and Woodchuck in turn, only to be refused entry because there isn’t enough room. “Swish, swish, PLISH.” Raccoon pushes on through the darkness and rain—Poh’s fine artwork resembles particularly good theatrical backdrops against which her stylized figures stand out—until he reaches Rabbit’s hutch, overrun with little rabbits. Raccoon thinks it’s another bust until Rabbit says, “What good luck….Come right in. There’s always room for a good friend.” Being rabbits, they have to be space-ready. Soon enough Possum, Quail, and Woodchuck come knocking, seeking emotional shelter from the storm, and they, too, are welcomed in for some carrot stew and to romp with the 10 little rabbits. Come on in, the story says without saying it, which is always the best way, there’s always room for one more. Readers may notice that only Rabbit is identified as female, which reinforces more than one stereotype.

Lovely artwork combined with goodwill toward men. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-58536-394-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press

Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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LIGHTS OUT
by Marsha Diane Arnold ; illustrated by Susan Reagan

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MINE. YOURS.
by Marsha Diane Arnold ; illustrated by Qin Leng

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BADGER'S PERFECT GARDEN
by Marsha Diane Arnold ; illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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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)