A simple yet uplifting school story.
Afua’s first-day jitters can’t be conveyed with a single feeling or word.
Feeling “scarecited” (scared and excited), Afua wonders what school will be like. “Will I make a friend?” Afua’s outfit is “flute” (fly and cute), and upon entering the classroom, the young narrator is “shurious” (shy and curious). Afua’s ready to start the day until the teacher, Ms. Lane, mispronounces Afua’s name. “Sadbarrassed” (sad and embarrassed), Afua wonders, “Why is my name so hard?” A classmate named Teal, noticing Afua’s distress, invites the protagonist to eat lunch, and as the two race around on the playground, Teal pronounces Afua’s name correctly. Inspired—and feeling “bravous” (brave and nervous)—Afua approaches Ms. Lane to correct her pronunciation (phonetic text will help young readers also say Afua’s name right). The teacher’s kind words leave Afua feeling “prelieved” (proud and relieved). Bold illustrations and word lettering match the high-energy excitement of the first-day-of-school setting. Agostini captures the all-too-familiar feeling of experiencing more than one emotion at a time, encourages both self-advocacy and creative self-expression, and acknowledges the power of being seen. Afua and Teal present Black; their class is diverse. The book opens with pronunciation guides for the author’s and illustrator’s names.
A simple yet uplifting school story. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780374390020
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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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