A relatable and generation-spanning tale of milestones and sleeplessness.
A young boy grapples with his new big-boy bed in this fun and sleep-deprived children’s book.
Stewie Boom is like most kids his age: he likes soccer and space travel, and he idolizes his big brother, Zoom. When Stewie’s parents tell him that he’s getting a big-boy bed just like Zoom’s, Stewie is excited, but when the first night of sleep comes, he is nervous. After he’s tucked in, a worried Stewie tells his parents that he’s ready to get his crib back. He just can’t get comfortable in the new bed! Everyone reassures him, but he’s highly skeptical and tests all the beds of all of his family members. After a night spent with Zoom, Stewie realizes that he is a big boy, having slept a full night in a real bed. Now, it’s time for the sleep-deprived family to celebrate. Bronstein (Stewie Boomstein Starts School, 2014) certainly knows what it’s like to be awake for hours at the beck and call of a young child, but she also perfectly articulates what it’s like to be a kid in a new situation. Stewie’s tale is relatable not just for the parents of young kids hitting the new-bed milestone, but also for the little ones who are fighting sleep. There’s a large dose of humor here, making this book a must-have for parents and children at this tricky stage. Young’s illustrations are darling, capturing the exhausted faces of Stewie’s parents as well as his skepticism over his new bed. Included are a series of parenting tips by a certified pediatrician. They’re a lovely companion to the story. The second book in Stewie’s series, this work shows that sometimes missing a little sleep can add up to a whole lot of fun.
A relatable and generation-spanning tale of milestones and sleeplessness.Pub Date: July 30, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9904652-9-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
