A well-told story featuring creative kids who excel at fashioning their own fun.
Zuri Ray loves a good party.
When our protagonist, who was introduced in Zuri Ray Tries Ballet (2021), decides to throw a summer bash, her parents suggest reusing the decorations from Zuri’s third birthday party, playing ’80s music, and making an olive Jell-O mold. Bad ideas! So, with her parents’ encouragement, Zuri springs into action to plan her own fête with help from her sister, Remi. Their friends come over and volunteer to get their families to contribute food and decorations. The kids decide on a menu of barbecue and tacos, and they plan the party around a talent show in which the kids will perform. When the day arrives, Lupe dances to Swan Lake, the Patel twins perform magic tricks, Remi and Tessa do a hip-hop number, and Zuri plays guitar and sings. A few mishaps threaten to derail the show, but Zuri and friends recover beautifully, with the help of Zuri’s caring parents, and they all prepare for a grand finale guaranteed to please everyone. Sordo’s colorful, digitally created illustrations portray a loving, diverse community of friends and family. Biracial Zuri, who has brown skin and an Afro, has a White dad and a Black mom; her friends are diverse; and no two (except the twins) have the same skin tone or hair texture. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A well-told story featuring creative kids who excel at fashioning their own fun. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-291804-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet notion that falls flat.
A hit song reimagined as a book about parental love.
Featured in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, Perri’s “A Thousand Years” deals with the speaker’s fear of romantic love. In picture-book form, it explores a parent’s unwavering love for a child, who grows from an infant into a toddler over the course of the narrative. The caregiver expresses awe when the youngster learns to stand and fear that the child might fall while beginning to walk. “I have spent every day waiting for you,” the parent says. “Darling, don’t be afraid.” What the child might fear isn’t clear from the joyful balloon- and rainbow-filled illustrations. The story borders on cloying, and words that might work when sung and accompanied by music don’t sound fresh on the page: “Time goes by. / You grow ever stronger as you fly.” The refrain, however, is a lovely sentiment: “I have loved you for a thousand years. / I’ll love you for a thousand more.” Perri’s legion of fans may flock to this version, illustrated by Ruiz with sparkling stars, bubbles, and big-eyed toddlers, but it doesn’t hold together as a narrative or an ode, as it’s billed, and it’s a long way from the original song. The child is tan-skinned, the parent is lighter-skinned, and other characters are diverse.
A sweet notion that falls flat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622599
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
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