Many kids begin wondering about their origins at a young age but some parents might not be comfortable getting into discussions about sexual reproduction too early. This paperback co-written by a board-certified pediatrician and his screenwriting brother provides them with an easy out.
Jeffrey comes home from school wanting answers, and on the left side of each spread he asks a probing question about how he came to be using simple language and concepts any curious child might use, such as “Was I hatched from a giant egg?” On the top of each adjacent page, the wildly imaginative Jeffrey conjures up a lavishly illustrated scenario wherein the response to his inquiry is yes: “I bet Mommy sat on me for a whole year until I broke out of my shell with my feathers and claws and my big, colorful dragon wings.” As his doting parents patiently weigh in (yes, Mommy did grow him for nine months, but no, not in a garden like a Venus Flytrap), the love between parent and child is made plainly evident. When Jeffrey finally finds out some semblance of the truth—that he was made out of love—young readers will surely feel just as satisfied by the resolution as little Jeffrey. They’ll also be drawn to all the robots and purple tentacled aliens of Jeffrey’s imagination too. But given that it features a happily married couple as parents, the book might be off-putting for single-parent or broken-family households. Also, the book’s title gives away the punch line before the spine is even cracked. Nonetheless, this is a heartwarming lesson in parenting for the “Brady Bunch” set. An imaginative picture book for tiny tykes that enterainingly addresses how babies are made without resorting to biological terminology.
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1937387259
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Telemachus Press
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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