An encouraging animal tale with an important message for children with disabilities.
In this debut picture book, a voiceless robin learns how to communicate with other animals.
A little robin is just like other birds, except he can’t make a single noise. But one day, a friendly old goat notices the robin, realizes he can’t speak, and comes up with an idea. Inviting the robin to ride on his back, the goat takes the bird to meet some friends, who can maybe teach him their own noises. The bear shows the robin how to roar, the snake how to hiss, the owl to hoot, and the cricket to chirp. The robin tries to imitate these sounds, but nothing comes out. Just then, though, the animals notice that the robin has been making gestures, and they correctly guess each one’s meaning: stretching his wings out signifies the bird is scared, for example. Flapping his wings means he’s happy—and the robin is delighted now to have good friends who care about understanding him. The final page vividly shows children how to sign, not sing, like a robin, using American Sign Language. Legg’s warmhearted tale seems clearly meant as an allegory for deaf children, and the message—that it’s OK to be different when you have friends who get you—remains affirming to kids with disabilities. On the other hand, the robin isn’t deaf but only mute, making it harder for deaf children to relate. Zandona’s (My Toothbrush Ran Away, 2017, etc.) illustrations are bright, cheery, and express the uplifting story’s emotions well.
An encouraging animal tale with an important message for children with disabilities.Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68401-597-9
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Mascot Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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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