A moving, elegantly constructed celebration of differences sure to foster empathy and stir the imagination.
The story of a table belonging to two different families.
A poor white family owns a wooden kitchen table. It holds the biscuits that Meemaw bakes, as well as the plate of peas the child narrator leaves after devouring cornbread and pork-fat pinto beans. The table also holds a book that the child reads aloud to Meemaw, who’s illiterate, along with bills that Mama can’t pay. The mines that have made Grandaddy sick have also left Papa unemployed, and the family soon loses their house. Since the table won’t fit in their next home, they leave it on the side of the road, where a Black carpenter and his family pick it up. “This a good table right here,” Daddy tells his child, the narrator of the book’s second half. And once it’s cleaned up, the table holds beef stew, which this youngster dislikes as much as the other child hated those dreaded peas. As the story draws to a close, the youngster wonders about the previous owners of the family’s new-old table. Bingham and Blevins write with a mixture of melancholy and hope, using masterfully chosen details to draw rich portraits of two different families, each united in their love for one another. With his stunning use of textures, Griffin’s ingenious mixed-media illustrations show only the characters’ hands—an intriguing choice that leaves readers to fill in many gaps.
A moving, elegantly constructed celebration of differences sure to foster empathy and stir the imagination. (creators’ notes) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9780823456420
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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
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
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