A pitch-perfect tale for shy friend-makers everywhere.
How do you find the right words to make a friend?
Young Kai lives a nomadic life with his father, setting up camp “on windy plains, by lapping lakes, near dusty villages.” Everywhere, Kai sees children talking and playing, but he doesn’t join in, self-conscious about his language barrier and other differences. Instead, he finds solace in creating piles of rocks that mark their home for as long as they stay in one place. Kai tops each cairn with his favorite spotted rock, which resembles the night sky. When Kai’s father decides they’ll stay in one place for a while, Kai tries to talk to the other children. But they laugh at his strange words and run away. In anger, Kai smashes his cairn, kicking his special rock into the sea. Stricken, he jumps in after it and meets a young mermaid who understands his stone-building language. Vivid, wordless scenes awash in sea-glass green with yellow, orange, and red accents convey the warmth and playfulness of the children’s interactions. Kai gifts his special stone to his new friend and returns to land, having found the language he needs to build a new friendship. Through powerful visual storytelling, this exquisite tale makes clear that words aren’t necessary to develop a truly lasting bond. Characters are brown-skinned; in an author’s note, Tanaka explains how she drew on her Japanese and Mexican heritage to develop Kai’s story.
A pitch-perfect tale for shy friend-makers everywhere. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781338736250
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school...
The familiar theme of the challenges facing a new kid in town is given an original treatment by photographer Border in this book of photos of three-dimensional objects in a simple modeled landscape.
Peanut Butter is represented by a slice of white bread spread with the popular condiment. The other characters in the story—a hamburger with a pair of hot dogs in tow, a bowl of alphabet soup, a meatball jumping a rope of spaghetti, a carton of French fries and a pink cupcake—are represented by skillfully crafted models of these foods, anthropomorphized using simple wire construction. Rejected by each character in turn in his search for playmates, Peanut Butter discovers in the end that Jelly is his true match (not Cupcake, as the title suggests), perhaps because she is the only one who looks like him, being a slice of white bread spread with jelly. The friendly foods end up happily playing soccer together. Some parents may have trouble with the unabashedly happy depiction of carbs and American junk food (no carrots or celery sticks in this landscape), and others may find themselves troubled by the implication that friendship across difference is impossible.
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school experiences. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16773-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
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)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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