Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
“School doesn’t worry me,” confides this little boy. “Last year I had a lot of fun there...I was in Kindergarten then.” Assurances to the contrary notwithstanding, Aidan is plenty worried. A just-before-school-starts get-together with chums from last year, particularly Tammy’s account of bumping into their new teacher at the supermarket, helps the little guy get over those butterflies. Quackenbush recognizes a reality that is often glossed over—that even kids with a bit of school under their belts can worry about changes—and provides welcome support for them. Even readers who laugh outwardly at Aidan’s misconceptions will likely breathe tiny, private sighs of relief. Nascimbene places Tintin-esque characters against gorgeous, Japanese print–inspired backgrounds in a muted palette, the delicate lines and flat perspectives providing a soothing environment to calm jitters of all kinds. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-06-077632-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
Small, a very little fox, needs some reassurance from Large in the unconditional love department. If he is grim and grumpy, will he still be loved? “ ‘Oh, Small,’ said Large, ‘grumpy or not, I’ll always love you, no matter what.’ “ So it goes, in a gentle rhyme, as Large parries any number of questions that for Small are very telling. What if he were to turn into a young bear, or squishy bug, or alligator? Would a mother want to hug and hold these fearsome animals? Yes, yes, answers Large. “But does love wear out? Does it break or bend? Can you fix it or patch it? Does it mend?” There is comfort in Gliori’s pages, but it is a result of repetition and not the imagery; this is a quick fix, not an enduring one, but it eases Small’s fears and may well do the same for children. (Picture book. 2-6)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-202061-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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