A funny and thoughtful picture book for kids who are a little bit different.
An unusual apple seeks his true home in Crafts and Burakoff’s picture book.
It’s easy to feel lost in a 247-person family. The unnamed bespectacled narrator doesn’t fit in; he doesn’t like getting wet when its family goes swimming, and he gets motion sickness when rolling down hills. This apple’s imagination seems to stretch farther than those of his cousins, so he decides to strike out on his own. The journey is not without bumps and bruises, but eventually the narrator lands in the Big Apple. He meets others with whom he has interests and dreams in common (despite having different shapes). Though the apple isn’t entirely sure of himself, he learns how to make art, guided by pear, pineapple, and even blueberry friends. At his art show in the city, the apple is surprised to see not only his new friends but his relatives as well. This inspires the apple to return home and re-imagine his relationship to the place. This narrative cleverly turns a classic idiom on its head: “Even though I didn’t fit in, I always belonged.” Burakoff and Crafts delight in wordplay, sneaking in phrases like “reconnect with my roots.” Hope’s bright illustrations in natural tones are cute and warm, engaging in their own visual jokes, like the “One in a Melon” sticker on the bandwagon.
A funny and thoughtful picture book for kids who are a little bit different. (Picture book about belonging for ages 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781962447164
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Genius Cat Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
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)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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