A warm portrayal of the life of an autistic child who is supported by a loving family.
An autistic boy shares his love of the water.
Charlie has a twin sister named Callie. The two share a lot, but they are different. For one thing, Charlie is autistic, while Callie isn’t. Callie supports Charlie, mostly by simply letting her brother be himself. Another thing that helps Charlie is water; he loves going out in the rain or to the lakeside or pool. “Water makes my heart smile.” Callie is by his side through it all. When the twins and their parents go to the aquarium, Charlie shares his extensive fish-related knowledge and savors the feeling of being wrapped up in comforting, swirling waterscapes. His family lets him feel like he’s “swimming in an ocean of love.” Evans’ illustrations give lovely texture and color to the many water incarnations and appropriately reveal wonder through Charlie’s big brown eyes. This honest, affirming book was co-written by Robinson Peete, of My Brother Charlie (2010), and her son, Peete, who is autistic and whose sister, Ryan Elizabeth Peete, helped write the previous book. An extensive author’s note from Robinson Peete describes the personal inspiration for this story along with some sage advice for families of autistic individuals. In a separate note, Peete discusses being on the autism spectrum and, in Autism 101, lists helpful tips aimed at people who aren’t autistic. Charlie and his family, like their real-life authorial counterparts, are Black. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A warm portrayal of the life of an autistic child who is supported by a loving family. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-68726-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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
From curds to riches, from meltdown to uplift—this multicourse romp delivers.
A winning wheel of cheddar with braggadocio to match narrates a tale of comeuppance and redemption.
From humble beginnings among kitchen curds living “quiet lives of pasteurization,” the Big Cheese longs to be the best and builds success and renown based on proven skills and dependable results: “I stuck to the things I was good at.” When newcomer Wedge moves to the village of Curds-on-Whey, the Cheese’s star status wobbles and falls. Turns out that quiet, modest Wedge is also multitalented. At the annual Cheese-cathlon, Wedge bests six-time winner Cheese in every event, from the footrace and chess to hat making and bread buttering. A disappointed Cheese throws a full-blown tantrum before arriving at a moment of truth: Self-calming, conscious breathing permits deep relief that losing—even badly—does not result in disaster. A debrief with Wedge “that wasn’t all about me” leads to further realizations: Losing builds empathy for others; obsession with winning obscures “the joy of participating.” The chastened cheddar learns to reserve bragging for lifting up friends, because anyone can be the Big Cheese. More didactic and less pun-rich than previous entries in the Food Group series, this outing nevertheless couples a cheerful refrain with pithy life lessons that hit home. Oswald’s detailed, comical illustrations continue to provide laughs, including a spot with Cheese onstage doing a “CHED” talk.
From curds to riches, from meltdown to uplift—this multicourse romp delivers. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9780063329508
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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