Both easy-reading and pleasantly thoughtful.
Rhyming couplets give an original explanation of the path from thoughts to words to action, with the art using community gardening as an example.
The artwork is light and playful, with figures—both human and animal—rendered with simple lines and varied skin tones and backgrounds in springtime colors. The protagonist is a light-skinned, blond child who stretches from bed beneath the first short verse, which starts with the book’s title. A gently puffy thought balloon containing flowers and bumblebees sprouts from the child’s head. Each double-page spread follows the child and that balloon through breakfast, the walk to school, and then the school day and what follows. As the child goes through these activities, the text continues with couplets that extend the metaphorical comparisons, saying that thoughts are “clouds,” “dreams,” “feelings,” “breath,” and more. The art is not particularly complementary to such notions as “beliefs, winds that inspire / When you feel low they lift you up higher” or “thoughts become words so please think your best.” However, its sweetness and whimsicality match the singsong nature of the text, both of which will hold the attention of little ones. Older readers will understand the sophisticated idea underneath the simplicity, as the child’s thoughts, communicated via words, lead to positive actions. “Actions are matter, thoughts that came true / Actions are words you decided to do.” Text and art come full circle on the final page. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Both easy-reading and pleasantly thoughtful. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984814-36-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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