bookshelf

YOU RULE!

Name: YOU RULE!
Author: Rilla Alexander
ISBN: 978-1-79721-179-4

by Rilla Alexander ; illustrated by Rilla Alexander ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2023

How do you measure a terrific, winning book? By the learning and smiles it will surely generate.

bookshelf

Who knew you could measure almost anything?

Kids have probably learned or observed that measuring instruments—e.g., rulers, tape—determine how long or tall items are, and they likely know that such implements rely on numbers. But how do we measure intangibles like ideas or feelings? This picture book demonstrates how to do so. Each page presents a question and a striking, cartoonlike illustration, often with a tape-measure motif. One page states, “How big are you?” The image depicts an adult measuring a brown-skinned child’s height against a wall along with words and phrases such as microscopic, sprouting, giant, towering, and sky-high. Fonts in which measuring words/phrases are set on pages throughout vary, and some are boldfaced. Often, responses cavort playfully on pages so readers have to turn the book—or their heads!—to read text, as is the case with the question “How strong are you?” for which answers appear on a rope with which the child plays tug of war with a dog. Other questions include “How kind are you?” and “How much do you know?” The best is saved for last: “How much do I love you?” The answer, from a tan-skinned caregiver, in boldfaced capital letters: “IMMEASURABLY!” This unique, clever offering will enhance visual literacy and help readers develop vocabulary. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

How do you measure a terrific, winning book? By the learning and smiles it will surely generate. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 4, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-79721-179-4

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE THINGAMAJIG
by Rilla Alexander ; illustrated by Rilla Alexander

- BOOK REVIEW
FIONA IN THE SANDBOX
by Rilla Alexander ; illustrated by Rilla Alexander

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NEW ROOSTER
by Rilla Alexander ; illustrated by Rilla Alexander

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)

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

bookshelf

IMANI'S MOON

by JaNay Brown-Wood ; illustrated by Hazel Mitchell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 14, 2014

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...

bookshelf

Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.

The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)