Tender guidance for young Christian readers.
As he did with his nonfiction work for adults, Relationship Goals (2020), Christian megachurch pastor Todd shows young readers how developing a close bond with God can strengthen relationships with family and friends.
A mother encourages her daughter to talk to Jesus the same way she would to a best friend. Mom goes on to tell her daughter about relationship goals. Jesus should be first on her list of goals. A glowing, brown-skinned Jesus is depicted praying beside the young protagonist as her mother urges her to make goals. First, it’s important to wake up and thank the Lord and to pray every morning. Through it all, her parents will “help you learn what makes God glad.” The young daughter notices another kind of relationship when she sees Mom getting dressed up for a night out with Dad. When the child cries because she wants to go, too, her father uses an analogy of a faucet pouring water into cups to show how God pours love into people, who then share it with those they care about: “We can’t pour out love unless God first pours in. That’s why it’s important to spend time with Him.” Santana’s visuals are vivid, at times resembling stills from an animated movie, while Todd’s story effectively uses metaphor to make the concept of godly love accessible to a young audience—though it’s not likely to resonate with children who aren’t part of a Christian faith. The family is Black.
Tender guidance for young Christian readers. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593192641
Page Count: 40
Publisher: WaterBrook
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
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)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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