Ultimately insubstantial, though its heart’s in the right place.
Readers who are “feeling gray” are encouraged to come into the forest.
A rose-cheeked child in green, leaf-patterned clothes and bare feet calls herself “the little girl of the forest,” welcoming those who enter her domain. In succession, a man, woman, and boy walk through the forest, all troubled in their own ways. The girl invites each one “to bathe in the forest,” and each finds relief in the embrace of nature. It’s unclear exactly what a forest “bath” entails until the end of the narrative, when the little girl encourages readers to relax and open their senses to the natural healing experience found in wooded areas. Whether the girl is a forest sprite or human is unclear, though her efforts to share her passion for natural spaces are equally valid with either interpretation. Uyá paints a fanciful atmosphere with organic shapes and selective background details. The visitors, all family members, are rendered all in gray shades until they accept the young girl’s invitation, then they burst into color. (Their surnames differ slightly: either Grayshadow or Greystone; this inconsistency will plague some young listeners.) The art’s various green hues and pops of color must compete with the stark white backgrounds, which do overpower at times. Appended is a link to a downloadable booklet with activities “to immerse yourself in nature,” such as doing texture rubbings or following a wandering insect.
Ultimately insubstantial, though its heart’s in the right place. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-84-16733-58-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cuento de Luz
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.
In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.
Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063469730
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
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