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THE INVISIBLE STRING BACKPACK

Name: THE INVISIBLE STRING BACKPACK
Author: Patrice Karst
ISBN: 9780316402286

by Patrice Karst ; illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2023

Will give kids the resources they need to make the first day of school a rousing success.

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As they did with The Invisible String (2018), Karst and Lew-Vriethoff offer encouragement to kids coping with separation anxiety, this time tackling the back-to-school blues.

Mila is worried about her first day at her new school. What if she misses her parents and they need to come get her? Her mother has a solution. “There’s an Invisible String of love that connects us all day long. When you miss us, just tug on it and we’ll tug it right back.” Her brother, Jordan, tells her she also has an Invisible Backpack full of superpower solutions. What if no one likes her? She can look in her Invisible Mirror and remind herself that she can do anything. Mila worries about being too nervous to speak up in class, but an Invisible Microphone will give her the confidence she needs. Mila relies on these and other tools, and her first day goes smoothly. That night, as Mila drifts off to sleep, she realizes that everyone has a personalized bottomless Invisible Backpack. While the book is a bit text heavy and enumeration of the items in the backpack slows the story, readers feeling jittery about their own first days are sure to find much-needed reassurance. Splashes and swirls of color enhance the lively digital artwork. Mila and her family have brown skin and brown hair; her classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Will give kids the resources they need to make the first day of school a rousing success. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: July 11, 2023

ISBN: 9780316402286

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
RUBY AND LONELY
by Patrice Karst ; illustrated by Kayla Harren

- BOOK REVIEW
THE INVISIBLE WEB
by Patrice Karst ; illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

- BOOK REVIEW
THE INVISIBLE LEASH
by Patrice Karst ; illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

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THE WORLD NEEDS THE WONDER YOU SEE

by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 28, 2025

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.

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Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.

There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025

ISBN: 9781400247417

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tommy Nelson

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORLD NEEDS WHO YOU WERE MADE TO BE
by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney

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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)