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LUCY TRIES SOCCER

From the Lucy Tries Sports series

With playful exuberance, Bowes’ lively tale shares the fun of soccer with young readers.

Soccer is the latest sports endeavor for spunky, industrious Lucy.

In this newest entry in the Lucy Tries Sports series (Lucy Tries Luge, 2015, etc.), Lucy ventures onto the soccer field. Under the guidance of a friendly coach, Lucy and her friends apply their fledgling skills in their first three-on-three game. In jaunty rhyming text, Bowes captures the exhilaration of the game, building the anticipation as Lucy’s team works collaboratively on the field. She introduces common soccer terms, detailing the various skills the players use in preparation for and during the game. Emphasizing teamwork and good sportsmanship, the tale focuses on Lucy’s enjoyment of the game. Descriptions of Lucy’s behavior on the field and on the sidelines present a positive example for young players. A “Fast Facts!” section provides further information about soccer for interested readers. The book’s design includes text with various words and phrases highlighted in bold, eye-catching colors, accompanied by sunny, upbeat illustrations. Hearne’s artwork captures the energetic enthusiasm of Lucy, a redheaded white girl, and her racially diverse friends. The cheery pictures of these young athletes wholeheartedly playing and learning the sport aptly convey the global appeal of soccer.

With playful exuberance, Bowes’ lively tale shares the fun of soccer with young readers. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 26, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4598-1022-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orca

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016

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THE TEMPEST

A must-own adaptation chock-full of such stuff as kids’ dreams are—and will be—made on.

Mirth, magic, and mischief abound in this picture-book retelling of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays.

Ariel, the beloved sprite whose conjurings precipitate the eponymous tempest, gets top billing in this adaptation and recounts the narrative in the first person. Through Ariel’s eyes, readers are introduced to the powerful Prospero, his lovely daughter, Miranda, and the shipwrecked nobles who are brought to the island to right an ancient wrong. Ellinas’ picture book largely divests the tale of its colonialist underpinnings and breathes three-dimensional complexity into the major and minor characters. Caliban, for instance, is monstrous due to his callous treatment of Ariel rather than because he is racially coded as savage. Another delightful change is the depiction of Miranda, who emerges as an athletic, spirited, and beautiful nature-child whose charms are understandably irresistible to Prince Ferdinand. The text is perfectly matched by Ray’s jaw-droppingly beautiful illustrations, which will enchant readers from the front cover to the final curtain. The greens of the waters and the blues of the island’s night sky are so lush and inviting that readers will wish they could enter the book. Peppered throughout the story are italicized fragments of Shakespeare’s dialogue, giving both young and older readers something to enjoy. Large, granite-colored Caliban is plainly nonhuman; the human characters present white; Ariel is a translucent, paper white.

A must-own adaptation chock-full of such stuff as kids’ dreams are—and will be—made on. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 7, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-5362-1144-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

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

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