A beautiful story of healing and strength.
A stuffed fox becomes broken in a storm.
Emi and her stuffed fox live and play high on a Japanese mountain under a ginkgo tree. One day, when the first ginkgo leaf turns gold, a huge storm hits. The wind and rain bring down one of the tree branches and snatch the fox up into the midst of the storm, casting it down far away. Torn and broken and with a yellow ginkgo leaf in its pocket, the fox sits alone longing for home. Soon, it is found and brought to Kiko, a young girl in a wheelchair, who cleans and mends the fox with golden thread. Over the next year, Kiko and the fox play, heal, and become happy together. When autumn comes around again, it brings golden ginkgo leaves, and Kiko must decide if she should return the fox to his home. Del Rizzo creates a beautiful story inspired by the Japanese art form of kintsugi, mending broken pottery with gold. Feelings of brokenness, being unwanted, healing, and happiness are told from the fox’s point of view. Illustrator Sato adds intricate 3-D imagery constructed from cut paper, fabrics, and other materials. The little details, like Kiko’s leg healing over the year and the kintsugi pottery in both girls’ homes, add to the charm of the story. All characters are Japanese, with some Japanese incorporated into the text.
A beautiful story of healing and strength. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77147-360-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
An uplifting tale of family connection and self-discovery.
Drawing inspiration from her rescue dog Clyde, Emmy-winning actor Aniston tells the story of a pooch seeking his passion.
The Clyde family are a talented bunch of canines: Uncle Clydester adores surfing, Auntie Clydette digs for dinosaur bones, and Great-Grandma Cly-Clyde dances salsa. “Everyone [has] something that [makes] them stand out”—except for young Clydeo, who doesn’t feel special. Clydeo sets out to discover what he loves, guided by an optimistic mantra: “Take a bite out of life, I always say!” As he tries out various relatives’ hobbies, he asks for advice: How will he know when he’s found his “thing”? Grandpa Clyderton, the daredevil, says that his passion makes him “light up.” Second cousin Clydesto, who paints blindfolded, says that art makes his world brighter. Plucky, persistent Clydeo keeps searching. He finds answers while helping his mother cook for a big family meal. “Clydeo [feels] a warm feeling in his belly…He love[s] his family, and he love[s] cooking for them.” Clydeo’s notion of taking a bite out of life proves to be his thing—cooking. The alliteration of the family members’ names, their kernels of wisdom, and the book’s lovable protagonist make for a pleasurable, meaningful read. Jacob’s illustrations of big-eyed, expressive dogs exude charm and personality and make searching for one’s passion seem like utter joy.
An uplifting tale of family connection and self-discovery. (author’s note, photos) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780063372368
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
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