A NIGHT OUT WITH MAMA

Name: A NIGHT OUT WITH MAMA
Author: Quvenzhané Wallis
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5880-1

by Quvenzhané Wallis ; illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 3, 2017

As (at 9) the youngest contender to date for an Academy Award best actress prize, Wallis narrates a story well worth reading...

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Few brown girls (and even few brown women) have ever been able to tell a story like this.

Child star Wallis, best known for her debut acting role as the indomitable Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild and co-starring with Jamie Foxx in the 2014 version of the blockbuster musical Annie, recounts the glamourous night she and her mother spent at the Academy Awards ceremony. The African-American protagonist starts the day by waking up early and “tap, tap, tapping” around the house in her sparkly, new blue shoes, then waking up her siblings to make sure they share in her excitement. After the family enjoys a pancake breakfast, a stylist comes to give Quvenzhané a fabulous hairdo (about which her older brother teases her), and then her mother helps her don a new blue dress. An impressive limousine transports mother and daughter to the Academy Awards, and all goes well until Quvenzhané steps out of the car and falls, face first, onto the red carpet. Thinking of daddy helps her get over the embarrassment and move on to the main event. Expressively illustrated with Brantley-Newton’s characteristically upbeat illustrations, the book exudes positivity (“I don’t win, but Mama and I have ice cream sundaes just the same”) and excitement and tells a unique story.

As (at 9) the youngest contender to date for an Academy Award best actress prize, Wallis narrates a story well worth reading and sharing . (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4814-5880-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
SHAI & EMMIE STAR IN TO THE RESCUE!
by Quvenzhané Wallis ; illustrated by Sharee Miller

- BOOK REVIEW
SHAI & EMMIE STAR IN BREAK AN EGG!
by Quvenzhané Wallis & Nancy Ohlin ; illustrated by Sharee Miller

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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

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
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)