FORGET ME NOT

Name: FORGET ME NOT
Author: Nancy van Laan
ISBN: 978-0-449-81543-4

by Nancy van Laan ; illustrated by Stephanie Graegin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 5, 2014

Poignant but not overly sentimental—and actually quite light in some places—this quiet offering opens up a discussion of a...

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A delicate, perceptive look at an elderly loved one with dementia.

Julia’s grandmother’s eyes sparkled like candles on a cake, and she always smelled like lilac and cinnamon whenever they cuddled up close. But lately, “ever so slowly, like a low tide leaving the bay, a change came along.” Julia’s grandma is becoming more and more forgetful. Van Laan gently takes readers through the different stages of dementia, from Grandma forgetting names (“she liked to scramble our names for breakfast instead of eggs”) and then events, forgetting where she parked, mixing things up in the kitchen and repeating herself to eventually wandering outside in a snowstorm and being unable to care for herself. Told from Julia’s perspective, the story is tinged with the little girl’s confusion and worry, but the ultimate tone is one of love and reassurance. Julia knows there is no cure but still hugs her grandma tight every time they visit. A soft palette of warm greens and yellows and the unmistakable blue of forget-me-not flowers blankets readers in a wash of grandmotherly comfort.

Poignant but not overly sentimental—and actually quite light in some places—this quiet offering opens up a discussion of a condition that affects many. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-449-81543-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: June 9, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

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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)

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

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FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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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)