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A FRIEND

Name: A FRIEND
Author: Anette Bley
ISBN: 978-1-935279-00-6

by Anette Bley & illustrated by Anette Bley ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2009

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Bley provides readers with a comprehensive list of the traits that a good friend has, from the relatively easy things, like playing together on a rainy day and helping when needed, to the more difficult ones, like stepping back and allowing independence and having the courage to tell the truth. Being a good friend involves some finesse and also some intimate knowledge of your pal: “Someone who shows me the way...when I feel lost. / Someone who lets me find my own way...when I am ready.” The mixed-media illustrations are rich in texture and tongue-in-cheek humor: A child holding out a plate for the dog to lick illustrates the concept that friends share when they are hungry...and when they are not. The split-panel design allows multiple concepts to appear on a spread and also at times extend a scene over a page turn. The borderline-stereotypical image of pale- and outsized-lipped black characters is an unfortunate misstep in an otherwise valuable springboard for discussions of friendship, whether in the classroom, at home or in a storytime setting. (Picture book. 3-10)

Pub Date: March 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-935279-00-6

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Kane Miller

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2009

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
AND WHAT COMES AFTER A THOUSAND?
by Anette Bley & illustrated by Anette Bley

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!

John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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)