A heartwarming lesson about kindness, empathy, and self-worth that rushes toward resolution.
Bower uses the concept of auras to explore emotions in this illustrated children’s book.
A girl named Sophie wakes up on her seventh birthday to find a “magical and friendly” fairylike figure at the end of her bed. The sprite introduces herself as Zoe, Sophie’s spirit guide. Zoe explains that she has always watched over Sophie and guided her decisions; now, Sophie has been gifted “second sight,” allowing her to see Zoe and learn from her. When Sophie starts second grade at a new school, she is concerned about making new friends. Zoe reminds her that “true friends will see the beauty that shines from within you, just like I do.” Sophie feels inferior to another new student, Jessica, whom Sophie believes is more attractive. However, Jessica soon loses popularity with her classmates after some name-calling and cheating during a dodgeball game. When Sophie tries to talk to Jessica about her behavior, Jessica insults Sophie and leaves her in tears. Zoe appears and teaches Sophie about auras, the invisible energy that reflects a person’s feelings. Sophie’s aura is the “brightest, clearest” purple, while Jessica’s is a “dull gray.” Zoe informs Sophie that auras can change when someone is kind and generous. Sophie again approaches Jessica and tells her that it’s not outward beauty but kindness that attracts friends. As they talk, Jessica’s aura turns blue. Over time, as Jessica acts kindly towards others, her aura changes to purple. Zoe concludes, “It doesn’t matter how you shine on the outside, but rather what shines from the inside.” Bower’s storytelling effectively combines the relatable challenges of starting a new school and making friends with the mystical elements of a spirit guide and aura reading—using the visual aspect of auras is a unique way to help children understand and communicate about emotions. Mo’s digital artwork uses soft, glowing hues to enhance the otherworldly nature of the story, while clear, recognizable facial expressions clue readers to the characters’ emotions. However, Jessica’s rapid transformation sets unrealistic expectations for behavioral change.
A heartwarming lesson about kindness, empathy, and self-worth that rushes toward resolution.Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2025
ISBN: 9781779623423
Page Count: 46
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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