Welcome this new, modern celebration of an underrepresented holiday.
When his cat overturns the carefully set haft-seen table, Kian sets out to re-create one that represents his family.
It’s the first day of spring and the Persian holiday of Nowruz. Kian helps Maman and Baba cook and clean all day, and Baba goes to the airport to pick up the grandparents who will join them for the holiday. The traditional haft-seen table has been set with the seven special items beginning with S, each representing good things to come in the new year. Kian wonders why there are only seven symbols on the haft-seen table. If he can find more items for the table, will that make them even happier in the new year? He tries putting Sonny the cat on the table, but Sonny knocks everything over, ruining it all. Now Kian has to find seven new S’s for the haft-seen table. What special items will he choose? This charming picture book introduces the traditional symbols and practices of Nowruz but focuses on the heart of the holiday’s meaning in terms children can easily understand. Khorram, an award-winning author of young adult novels, creates a fun-loving protagonist and an easygoing family unit readers will warm to. Faidhi’s background in animation shines in these cartoon-style illustrations full of action and movement. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 61% of actual size.)
Welcome this new, modern celebration of an underrepresented holiday. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-10826-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.
Since a reformed Grinch is hardly any fun, this follow-up Grinches him up once more.
Those seeking more of the same, prepare to receive precisely that. Christmas is coming (again!), and the Grinch can hardly wait. He’s been patient all year, and now he can finally show the Whos down in Who-ville how much he’s changed. When the Grinch learns of a tree-decorating contest, he figures that if he wins, it’ll prove he truly has the Christmas spirit. He throws himself into the task, but when it comes time to judge the trees, the Grinch is horrified to discover that he’s received only the second-place trophy. Can Cindy-Lou Who find the words to save the day? Replicating many of the original beats and wordplay of the original, this tale feels like less a sequel and more like a vaguely rewritten variation. Meanwhile, Ruiz’s art seeks to bridge the gap between the animated Chuck Jones version of the Grinch and the one depicted in the original book. This thankless task results in a strange uncanny valley between Seuss and Jones but does allow the artist a chance to colorize everything and lend some racial diversity to the Who population (Cindy-Lou is light-skinned). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780593563168
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
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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