AUNTIE MAGGIE AND HER FIVE NEPHEWS AND NIECES

bookshelf

AUNTIE MAGGIE AND HER FIVE NEPHEWS AND NIECES

Name: AUNTIE MAGGIE AND HER FIVE NEPHEWS AND NIECES
Author: Sandra Alonso
ISBN: 9788418302671

by Sandra Alonso ; illustrated by Enrique Quevedo ; translated by Jon Brokenbrow ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2023

Offbeat and lovely.

bookshelf

The weight of carrying problems around just might make you sink.

Auntie Maggie has five nieces and nephews, with the delightful names of Timmy, Tammy, Tommy, Tummy, and Temmy. They are all going on an outing to the swimming pool. Auntie Maggie is the first to dive in, plugging her nose and pointing her toes. Timmy’s about to dive in next when he realizes that he forgot his goggles. He leaps onto Aunt Maggie’s back, keeping his head above the water so his eyes don’t get irritated. Each kid, in turn, realizes they forgot something (except Tummy) and piles onto poor Auntie Maggie. She sinks lower and lower, carrying the weight of each child’s problem. Back at home, Auntie Maggie teaches everyone problem-solving techniques that they can use to become more independent. The presentation is a bit quirky in this tale translated from Spanish, but the art matches the absurdity beautifully. Cluttered with incredible details, each spread is a feast for the eye. Auntie Maggie is eccentric and has fantastical toys all around the house, while the pool scenes are filled with a plethora of characters, each with their own imaginative backstories. Auntie Maggie and most of her family (along with the poolgoers) are light-skinned, except Tammy, who has darker skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Offbeat and lovely. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2023

ISBN: 9788418302671

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Cuento de Luz

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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)