Readers may wish they had wings, too. What fun! (Picture book. 3-6)
When the lights are out and everyone is asleep, baby Tessa takes flight—literally!
In this whimsical tale, a wee baby with wispy dark hair and just two little teeth lies in her crib asking to be picked up. But no one does. Her older sister lies asleep near her, the lights are out, and the moon is shining. “Goody, she thinks and jumps up herself”: Wings have sprouted on her back, and Tessa takes flight, tumbling through the air head over heels, up, up, and away from her crib. Clearly, it’s not her first time, and she loves it. She plays with toys, spins a red-and-white umbrella that becomes another instrument of flight, and shares books with Bingo the dog. As dawn nears and Bingo’s thump-thumping tail knocks the blocks over, Tessa knows it’s time to tidy up and get back to her crib. As the family’s day starts, the text plays with the word “up”: “Daddy lifts her up,” then “everyone is up,” she’s “up in her high chair,” “up on daddy’s shoulders,” and “up high in Mama’s arms.” If only they knew how high up Tessa can really go! The book ends as Tessa takes flight again when everyone is napping. The delightful watercolor-and–colored-pencil illustrations are as whimsical as the story and equally filled with movement. Tessa and her sister both have pale skin and dark hair; Mama has light-brown skin and black hair, while Daddy presents white, suggesting a mixed-race family.
Readers may wish they had wings, too. What fun! (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 24, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62672-439-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
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
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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