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BUNNY BRAVES THE DAY

Name: BUNNY BRAVES THE DAY
Author: Suzanne Bloom
ISBN: 978-1-68437-812-8

A FIRST-DAY-OF-SCHOOL STORY

by Suzanne Bloom ; illustrated by Suzanne Bloom ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2020

Share with those who will be shepherding and calming their own younger siblings on their first days.

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A small bunny uses every excuse to avoid the first day of school.

From an upper bunk, an older bunny peeks over the edge, excited: “Up and at ’em, Bunny Lump.” But the younger one isn’t having it. “I’m too tired”; “What if no one likes me?”; “My socks are too short”; “My tummy hurts.” The older sib has some solid suggestions, from packing a favorite stuffed animal to wearing something that will calm the jitters, like their own glittery shoes. But even this determined optimist concedes that “Sometimes you just feel like crying before you feel like trying.” As the duo joins their mother in the kitchen, the older sibling lists the things the younger one is already good at. Oddly, Mom never speaks, simply snapping a cellphone pic of her kids before a page turn sees them at the classroom door, the older sibling saying, “You’re a brave bunny. You can do this.” The dialogue-only text is color-coded, red for the elder, who wears a skirt, striped tights, and sparkly mary janes in shades of pink and purple, and blue for the younger, in red Velcro sneakers, a tiger tail, tan shorts, and a blue “super shirt.” Mom’s in scrubs with green crocs. Faces and body language are expressive, though in one scene, oddly, the older sibling’s expression slips, looking sad or sleepy rather than cheerful.

Share with those who will be shepherding and calming their own younger siblings on their first days. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 18, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-68437-812-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Boyds Mills

Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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THE WORLD NEEDS THE WONDER YOU SEE

by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 28, 2025

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.

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Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.

There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025

ISBN: 9781400247417

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tommy Nelson

Review Posted Online: yesterday

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORLD NEEDS WHO YOU WERE MADE TO BE
by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney

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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)