Just the ticket for starting conversations about the importance and fun of making all kinds of friends.
“Smart friends, funny friends”—just two of the many types of friends displayed in excellent photos and simple text.
Whether working alone or with frequent collaborator Kelly, Rotner specializes in photographic albums that explore basic concepts, and she has a great capacity for capturing animated children in many situations. The racially diverse kids (and even a few animal friends) in these color photos, arranged in varied layouts and often on bright backgrounds, invite multiple viewings. Youngsters and adults will enjoy the activities, emotions, and infectious smiles. Disabled children are included in a double-page spread captioned: “Friends with different ways to walk. Friends with different ways to talk.” On the left, one boy walks and another travels in his electric wheelchair. The opposite photo focuses on a boy and an older girl using sign language. It is a pity that disabled children are not more fully integrated into the whole. Gender equality (implied by hairstyle and attire) is given some attention, as in one double-page spread captioned: “Friends who like to dress up and friends who like to pretend.” Two young white boys wear colorful capes; two fairy princesses, one black and one white, wear jeweled tiaras and sport pink and purple wings; and an Asian boy and girl play with plastic dinosaurs.
Just the ticket for starting conversations about the importance and fun of making all kinds of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5124-8632-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Adults will do better skipping the book and talking with their children.
Social-equity themes are presented to children in ABC format.
Terms related to intersectional inequality, such as “class,” “gender,” “privilege,” “oppression,” “race,” and “sex,” as well as other topics important to social justice such as “feminism,” “human being,” “immigration,” “justice,” “kindness,” “multicultural,” “transgender,” “understanding,” and “value” are named and explained. There are 26 in all, one for each letter of the alphabet. Colorful two-page spreads with kid-friendly illustrations present each term. First the term is described: “Belief is when you are confident something exists even if you can’t see it. Lots of different beliefs fill the world, and no single belief is right for everyone.” On the facing page it concludes: “B is for BELIEF / Everyone has different beliefs.” It is hard to see who the intended audience for this little board book is. Babies and toddlers are busy learning the names for their body parts, familiar objects around them, and perhaps some basic feelings like happy, hungry, and sad; slightly older preschoolers will probably be bewildered by explanations such as: “A value is an expression of how to live a belief. A value can serve as a guide for how you behave around other human beings. / V is for VALUE / Live your beliefs out loud.”
Adults will do better skipping the book and talking with their children. (Board book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-78603-742-8
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
A heartwarming testament to music’s emotional power.
Music moves a nonverbal child to speak.
The narrator explains that Ronan was “born quiet. Some days he hardly says a word.” Today, when Father and Mother suggest outings to the beach or park, he’s quiet. But he looks up when Grandfather bursts in and proposes attending a concert. With refreshing optimism, Grandfather proclaims it “an adventure,” though Ronan’s parents worry about the “challenge” and “risk” of taking him to a performance. And when Ronan, his dog, and Grandfather reach Symphony Hall, an adventure it is. When the music starts, Ronan is swept away in a whirl of notes. Collectively, the instruments sound like “a sky full of stars,” sending him and his cheerful pup into a space-themed reverie. Boss notes that “the darker instruments sound cool and frightening” and the lighter ones sound “warm and friendly” but does not name the instruments, a missed opportunity to deepen readers’ understanding of the music enthralling Ronan. Audience and orchestra members alike are moved to laughter and applause when the music stops, and an awed Ronan utters his first “WOW!” Kheiriyeh’s endearing, pastel-hued cartoon illustrations convey Ronan’s astonishment and joy. Though an author’s note explains that the story is based on an actual nonverbal child’s experience of a Mozart piece in 2019, details such as Mother’s pearls and housedress and Grandfather’s finned car evoke a bucolic 1950s setting. Ronan and his family present white; background characters are racially diverse.
A heartwarming testament to music’s emotional power. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781534499713
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
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