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ABUELA’S SUPER CAPA

Name: ABUELA’S SUPER CAPA
Author: Ana Siqueira
ISBN: 978-0-06-311365-7

by Ana Siqueira ; illustrated by Elisa Chavarri ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 17, 2023

A sweet ode to superhéroe abuelas everywhere.

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When a Latine child’s superabuela falls sick and hangs up her capa, a young superhéroe springs into action.

On Saturdays, Super Luis and Sidekick Abuela get their superhéroe on, saving “citizens from danger” (keeping a vase from being knocked over by a tail-wagging dog), keeping cupcakes safe from household pets, and keeping lost capas out of the hands of “tiny intruders” like Luis’ younger sister, Isabel. But when Saturday finally comes again, Luis and Isabel’s parents reveal that Abuela is in the hospital. Despite Luis’ (and Isabel’s) superhugs and powerful kisses, Abuela returns home still “not superhéroe ready.” Momentarily taken aback, Luis tries to speed up Abuela’s recovery with even more superhugs, sips from a supershake, and smooches of “power-boosting kisses.” Yet Abuela still quite doesn’t return to her superself. What will Super Luis do without Sidekick Abuela? Though Siqueira and Chavarri’s collaboration navigates rather serious subject matter, this slice-of-life tale concludes on a hopeful note as Isabel steps into the role of sidekick (Abuela does stick around until the end, thankfully). Often direct and playful, Siqueira’s text, sprinkled with unitalicized Spanish words, assumes Luis’ point of view, which works marvelously to render Abuela’s physical decline in broad strokes. Chavarri’s kaleidoscopic artwork dazzles thanks to a focus on comiclike visual flourishes and expressive characters, depicted as brown-skinned and dark-haired (Abuela is gray-haired). (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sweet ode to superhéroe abuelas everywhere. (glossary of Spanish words) (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-06-311365-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
LA MALA SUERTE IS FOLLOWING ME
by Ana Siqueira ; illustrated by Carlos Vélez Aguilera

- BOOK REVIEW
IF YOUR BABYSITTER IS A BRUJA
by Ana Siqueira ; illustrated by Irena Freitas

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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CLAYMATES

by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Lauren Eldridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2017

The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...

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Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.

A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.

The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)