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THE WIND MAY BLOW

Name: THE WIND MAY BLOW
Author: Sasha Quinton
ISBN: 978-1-680-10268-0

by Sasha Quinton ; illustrated by Thomas Hegbrook ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 3, 2021

Exciting, heartwarming, and wise—this truly will resonate with a range of ages.

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As potential challenges are depicted, an offstage parent offers a child loving messages of mindfulness and empowerment.

Is this another sentimental book with singsong couplets published mainly for presentation at baby showers and graduation? No! Imaginatively shaped pages and clever die cuts that highlight important images (the sun; the child’s constant canine companion) or words (breathe, will rise again) ensure child appeal. The rhymes please and surprise, as they occur irregularly: sometimes internally, at others, at the end of phrases. The brown-skinned child protagonist is at first swaddled in red baby blankets, then in a similarly colored hoodie—thus, gender is indeterminate, allowing for universal identification while drawing comparisons to two of children’s literature’s iconic characters. The palette shifts from warm and sunny to the dramatic blues and purples of a nocturnal tempest illuminated by lightning as a storm tosses and splinters the child’s raft. The tense has changed from a reflective past to an imagined present or future, with calming assurances: “know that… / you are strong enough. / …you are smart enough. / … you have all you need / to make it through.” As timber is transformed into a shelter for the dog and protagonist, the narrative suggests that both structure and child are “as something new.” From the shimmering foil of the jacket to the contrasting endpapers, this picture book packs substance and style into its compact format.

Exciting, heartwarming, and wise—this truly will resonate with a range of ages. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-680-10268-0

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Tiger Tales

Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
FLORABELLE
by Sasha Quinton ; illustrated by Brigette Barrager ; photographed by Michel Tcherevkoff

- PROFILES
Sunshine Always Follows the Rain

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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)

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

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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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)