Tanco mostly nails it: Life is about the little things, which add up to time spent together, and what’s more important than...
Tanco follows his odes to father-child and brother-brother relationships (You and Me, Me and You: Brothers, 2018, etc.) with this one dedicated to mothers and children.
As in his previous titles, the author keeps readers on their toes with the page turn. The tiny tyke in these pages tests both her mother’s flexibility (standing on her leg as the mom does an inverted yoga pose) and, on the next page, her reflexes (mom dodges a kicked ball). Every parent will relate to at least a few of the scenarios presented here: Children certainly show their parents a new sense of style, notice things they do not (the museum’s water cooler rather than the art), and follow their lead (the two read back to back in the grass), and they do have a way of improving the mood after a long day of work. But one line spoken by the child narrator rings concerning: “I…keep your secrets safe.” Pops of orangey-red are the only spots of color, the rest black or gray against mostly white pages. Whereas the child in You and Me, Me and You, concerning fathers, was largely ungendered, the child here wears a dress and a girl’s bathing suit. Mother and daughter resemble each other, with red-outlined curly/scribbly hair and pointy noses. Both are paper-white.
Tanco mostly nails it: Life is about the little things, which add up to time spent together, and what’s more important than that? (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7190-6
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts.
A playful counting book also acts as a celebration of family and human diversity.
Shannon’s text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. “One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly’s legs. One family.” Gomez’s richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For “six,” a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text’s culminating assertion that “One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.”
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-374-30003-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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