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ELLA AND THE BALLOONS IN THE SKY

Name: ELLA AND THE BALLOONS IN THE SKY
Author: Danny Appleby
ISBN: 978-1-77049-528-9

by Danny Appleby ; illustrated by Lauren Pirie ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 12, 2013

A missed opportunity to shed light on important themes. (Picture book. 4-7)

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This earnest effort to put a metaphorical spin on themes of loss and grieving misses the mark despite having its heart in the right place.

Ella awakens to find that her pets—a dog, a fish, a bird and a cat—are gone. After searching her house, she sees them suspended from balloons and floating in the sky. She calls for them to come down and climbs a tree to reach them, but they just float higher and higher. Her mother soothes her, delivering the overt moral of the story in rhyming text: “When things float away / we must stay on the ground / and know in our hearts that / someday they’ll be found.” Ella isn’t ready to accept her mother’s advice and continues to reach for them by floating aloft with a bunch of her own balloons. Mom repeats her advice, but the emotional resolution only emerges when she later tells Ella to look for the lost animals in her own heart. Throughout the story, the line between metaphoric intent and the reality of the story-world is fuzzy. Are readers to understand that Ella’s pets have died? The ambiguity is ultimately problematic given the seriousness of the book’s apparent aim, and the simple line drawings do little to clarify things.

A missed opportunity to shed light on important themes. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-77049-528-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tundra Books

Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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ADDIE ANT GOES ON AN ADVENTURE

by Maren Morris & Karina Argow ; illustrated by Kelly Anne Dalton ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 9, 2024

Young readers will be “antsy” to join the hero on her satisfying escapade.

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An ant explores her world.

Addie Ant’s ready for adventure. Despite some trepidation about leaving the Tomato Bed, where she lives with her aunt, she plucks up her courage and ventures forth across the garden to the far side of the shed. On her journey, she meets her pal Lewis Ladybug, who greets her warmly, points the way, and offers sage advice. When Addie arrives at her destination, she’s welcomed by lovely Beatrix Butterfly and enjoys an “ant-tastic” helping of watermelon. Beatrix also provides Addie with take-home treats and a map for the “Cricket Express,” which will take her straight home. Arriving at the terminal, Addie’s delighted to meet another friend, Cleo Cricket, whose carriage service returns Addie home in “two hops.” After eating a warm tomato soup dinner, Addie falls asleep and dreams of future exploits. Adorable though not terribly original, this story brims with sensuous pleasures, both textual and visual. Kids who declare that they dislike fruits or veggies may find their mouths watering at the mentions and sights of luscious tomatoes, peas, beans, watermelons, berries, and other foodstuffs; insect-averse readers may likewise think differently after encountering these convivial, wide-eyed characters. And those flowers and herbs everywhere! The highlights are the colors that burst from the pages. Addie’s an endearing, empowering character who reassures children they’ll be able to take those first independent steps successfully.

Young readers will be “antsy” to join the hero on her satisfying escapade. (author’s note about ants) (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 9, 2024

ISBN: 9781797228914

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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)