A valuable reminder that learning and growing take time, practice, and patience.
Everything grows better with a little help.
Mason doesn’t want to attend school anymore because there are things she can’t do and everyone else seems to do everything right. Mom encourages her to discuss these concerns with her teacher the next morning. Mason does, and at school, Ms. Perry thanks her for articulating her feelings. Later, Ms. Perry announces that, since today’s the first day of spring, the class’s morning meeting will focus on growth. She tells the class that everyone’s growing and changing in myriad ways. Next day, Ms. Perry displays a chart on which she invites students to indicate ways they’d like to grow. Ms. Perry encourages Mason to reflect on how much she’s growing—she knows the letters in her own name, for instance, and is “growing to be a reader”—and provides tools to help Mason learn to tie her own shoelaces. Mason begins to realize that some classmates also need help learning a few things. On the last day of school, Ms. Perry reminds everyone it’s always OK to request help in order to grow. This is a rather bland story, but it should reassure youngsters who feel doubtful about their ability to learn new skills. The colorful digital illustrations depict a multiracial cast of characters in a lively, active classroom setting. Mason, her mom, and Ms. Perry have skin in various shades of brown.
A valuable reminder that learning and growing take time, practice, and patience. (how to write a thank-you card, author’s note, tips for fostering a growth mindset) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593643969
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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
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
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