bookshelf

A BLUE KIND OF DAY

Name: A BLUE KIND OF DAY
Author: Rachel Tomlinson
ISBN: 978-0-593-32401-1

by Rachel Tomlinson ; illustrated by Tori-Jay Mordey ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2022

A loving tribute to the power of loved ones’ support during trying times.

bookshelf

Blue is not just a color.

Coen, a young Indigenous Australian boy, is having a difficult day. His body is coiled and tense, his feelings are “a deep, murky kind of blue,” and bed is the only place he finds relief. Mum says that “it can’t be that bad.” Dad thinks fresh air will do the trick. “What’s wrong with you?” his little sister, Junie, innocently demands. Coen feels “like a lost kite: loose in the breeze, with feelings that tangled like string”—and tangled Coen wants to be left alone. His family doesn’t understand. Then, little by little, Coen begins to respond to his parents’ and sibling’s loving patience and their assurance that his blue feelings won’t last forever. Author/psychologist Tomlinson deftly delves into the “muddled-up” moods of childhood depression with sympathy and compassion. With emotive descriptions such as “it was a slumping, sighing, sobbing kind of day,” the text invites readers to empathize rather than advise a child who is very much in pain. Mordey’s illustrations incorporate character design based on her own family, bringing a special warmth to this depiction of a racially-mixed household and their tender interactions. The limited palette of gentle blues, pinks, and apricot allows viewers to focus on the family members’ emotions. The author’s note further encourages families to recognize the different ways children process emotions and provides suggestions for helping children work through these overwhelming feelings. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A loving tribute to the power of loved ones’ support during trying times. (Picture book. 4-9)

Pub Date: April 5, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-593-32401-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Kokila

Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022

Categories:

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

- PERSPECTIVES
9 Children’s Books That Center Diverse Characters

bookshelf

LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

bookshelf

How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!

John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

bookshelf

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...

bookshelf

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)