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HOME IS A WINDOW

Name: HOME IS A WINDOW
Author: Stephanie Parsley Ledyard
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4156-3

by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard ; illustrated by Chris Sasaki ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 23, 2019

This sweet, emotionally perceptive book will help make any transition from old to new less scary.

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A multiracial family leaves the comfort and warmth of their old home to establish a new one.

Ledyard’s story begins in the familiar environs of a family’s well-loved and -lived-in home. In gentle, rhythmic prose, Ledyard describes home in myriad ways, from the concrete—“Home is a window, a doorway, a rug, a basket for your shoes”—to the visceral—“Home is Hello, sweet pea, and a hug, a little bit of green” (the last in the form of house plants). Home is not just a house. Home is a place where the family gathers at the table, where mother and daughter wash, rinse, and dry, and where there is always someone to help sweep up a mess. Home is “what feels the same each day”—and also “sometimes what is new.” Houses may change, but home goes with you in the form of “an arm around you tight” and “all that you miss.” Eventually everything will fall into a place, with “a window, sunlight, a corner for your toys.” Sasaki’s rough-hewn illustrations in pencil and marker are cleverly backgrounded with white (to provide focus) and dark space (to evoke melancholy). And his earth-toned, muted palette pairs beautifully with Ledyard’s spare text and the story’s slow, languid pace. The mother presents white, the father presents black, and the two children—a boy and a girl—have brown skin.

This sweet, emotionally perceptive book will help make any transition from old to new less scary. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 23, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-8234-4156-3

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
SUPERBABY
by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard ; illustrated by Lincoln Agnew

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PIE IS FOR SHARING
by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard ; illustrated by Jason Chin

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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)