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THE MAKE-BELIEVERS

Name: THE MAKE-BELIEVERS
Author: Ryan Seacrest
ISBN: 9781665949873

by Ryan Seacrest & Meredith Seacrest Leach ; illustrated by Bonnie Lui ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 8, 2024

Lukewarm attempts at sparking creativity.

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TV presenter and producer Ryan Seacrest and his sister, Meredith Seacrest Leach, encourage readers to use their imaginations to the fullest.

“You can be a make-believer,” the authors tell readers. Your mind can take you anywhere—up and away in a hot air balloon, blasting off on a rocket ship, or traveling across a rainbow, atop a majestic unicorn. Clouds transform into colorful fish; a child joins a llama in song. Though the simple, stream-of-consciousness text accompanying these images suggests that there’s no wrong way to daydream, it nevertheless offers examples in case readers feel a bit stumped. And once dreams become bold enough, they may serve to improve young people’s lives. These are laudable messages but ones that are clumsily delivered. The prose is tepid, verging on cliched (“Dreams to dream while the sun shines bright, and your eyes are wide open”). The authors deem these vivid experiences “Dreamy Moments”—which feels like an at best distracting and at worse cynical attempt to commodify childhood wonder. Visually, a digitally rendered palette of mellow hues emphasizes comfy purples, warm oranges, and calm aquatic blues and greens. The cast of children traipsing through the scenes are diverse in terms of race and ability and include kids using wheelchairs and hearing aids.

Lukewarm attempts at sparking creativity. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024

ISBN: 9781665949873

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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)