A buoyant message of familial love and acceptance, despite an oversight in the telling.
In Gardella’s picture book, a happy little girl marches to the beat of her own drummer.
In this lighthearted story, a bubbly little girl named Piper is comfortable being different from her parents and three siblings. And her family is also just fine with Piper not being like everyone else. Her two brothers and older sister bop to rap; Piper prefers to pirouette to Chopin and jeté to Tchaikovsky. They play in T-shirts and shorts; Piper wears a ruffly skirt and leggings. And while her siblings are engaged in noisy fun at Miller’s Pond, scaring bullfrogs and splattering each other with mud, Piper sits peacefully, “fashioning critters from cattails and seed pods and grass.” The nonjudgmental tone of the story, clearly expressed without being put into words, is reinforced by Fabian’s appealing, full-page, watercolorlike digital illustrations, which highlight Piper’s contentment and sheer enjoyment of being herself. The narrative has an unintentional misstep: When Piper’s siblings get stuck in the mud at the pond, Piper hurries home, but a scene in which she informs her parents of their plight is missing, inadvertently suggesting a darkly humorous spin on Piper’s attitude toward her siblings. Fortunately, the mud-covered trio, apparently rescued by their similarly muddy father, appear back home a page later.
A buoyant message of familial love and acceptance, despite an oversight in the telling.Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2023
ISBN: 9781959412441
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Write Em Cowgirl
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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