Sweet and simple without preaching, this book would be a welcome addition to any library collection and is a must-read for...
This picture book about sisterhood and adoption celebrates similarities and differences within families.
Through Emma’s voice, this simply told, easy-to-read book begins with the story of Abby’s adoption from Africa’s West Coast and her transition into her new family. Emma is candid about the differences that she notices: Abby’s brown skin and curly hair, her tiny size and her extreme shyness. But as everyone gets used to one another, Abby grows stronger, emerges from her shell and bonds with Emma. They like a lot of the same things: jumping on a trampoline, dancing, birthday cake and parades. Like all sisters, there are also some things they don’t agree on, like olives. “Abby is my best friend,” the book ends. “I’m glad she is part of our family.” Barberi, a frequent Huffington Post contributor, is a parent to several children adopted from Africa, and she has no doubt used her own experience as the touchstone for this book. The authenticity of that first-person experience rings through the narrative here, effectively driving home the point—for readers of any age—that differences are part of what makes a family. Scroggin’s watercolor illustrations accompany the text. While they’re not sophisticated from a technical standpoint—the figures are uneven and often awkward—they’re nevertheless bright and inviting. The trappings of little girl–hood, universal in their appeal, are affectionately captured in the hues of the girls’ bedroom and translucent flutters of twirling skirts.
Sweet and simple without preaching, this book would be a welcome addition to any library collection and is a must-read for families with young adopted children.Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-1500481704
Page Count: 34
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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