A shallow, worn exploration of diverse experiences.
A little girl describes the idyllic scene outside her window and wonders, “What’s outside your window?”
The book presents children gazing out their windows, waving from riverbanks, and peeking from gates in locales all over the world. Straightforward text complements the equally direct digital illustrations as the page turns reveal pops of color within a mainly pastel palette. Life for children across the globe is expressed simply by their descriptions of what’s right outside their windows in their immediate environments. While this concept is lovely, it also simplifies nuanced experiences of children living in diverse settings. The book ends as the young brown-skinned girl who started the book with her question wonders at the bigness of the world, which becomes a little smaller, a little more interconnected when she looks “up at the moon we share.” It’s a sweet ending that would be inspiring if the conflation of vastly different experiences by emphasizing the sameness of a shared celestial body wasn’t such a tired trope. The existence of racially diverse characters and the inclusion of a list of the locations noted in the book don’t accomplish the author’s stated goal of enabling readers to understand that “looking out someone’s window—like ‘walking in someone’s shoes’—helps us understand a person’s life and circumstances.”
A shallow, worn exploration of diverse experiences. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5465-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
WOO-HOO! This is the perfect way to foster healthy self-esteem in little ones.
What’s better than a cheerleading chicken?
Are you ever blue, unsure, tired, or overworked? Do you ever feel lost or overwhelmed? This uplifting book, expressed in delightful, jaunty verse, explains how to lift your spirits pronto: What you need is a booster chicken telling you’re doing great even when you’re not so confident, as when you’re learning or practicing a new skill, for instance. Your feathered champion will be right there, encouraging you all the way, with a loud “WOO HOO!” that’ll keep you going and remove any doubt you’re super terrific. But what if your cheerful chick errs and doesn’t do what it set out to do? Don’t worry—your cheery chicken just needs a reminder that everyone makes mistakes. That alone is a pep talk, enhanced by the wisdom that making mistakes allows everyone to learn and demonstrate they did their best. So forgive yourself, chickens! But the best thing is…instead of relying on someone else—like a chicken—to strengthen your ego, say a generous daily “WOO HOO!” to yourself. This riotous book hits all the right notes and does so succinctly and hilariously. The energetic, comical illustrations, in Boynton’s signature style, will elicit giggles and go far to make the book’s important point. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
WOO-HOO! This is the perfect way to foster healthy self-esteem in little ones. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-316-48679-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
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