A charming story that encourages children to use their imaginations.
In Odusanya’s picture book, two cousins learn a valuable lesson about creativity.
A tan-skinned child named Amelia appears disorganized—her messy bedroom is a riot of loose crayons, fabrics, and yarn. But Amelia is an artist with unstoppable drive, using “every LOOSE PART imaginable” in her work. While Amelia struggles to clean her room, her Auntie Teya and her cousin Jayce arrive, ready for their camping trip. The thrill of the outing is blunted when they discover that the campsite’s now missing its playground. While looking out at the empty site, Amelia notices that the park is packed with “giant loose parts” everywhere, from scattered leaves to logs. The cousins set out to design their own “teeter-totter,” but they don’t stop there—they can re-create the entire playground, complete with a slide and a new swing, making everything by hand. There’s a touching moment of discovery when the cousins realize that “The WORLD is our playground, we just have to CREATE it.” Later, Amelia, with the help of her parents, finally organizes her bedroom’s array of “loose parts” by creating “a HOME for every piece.” The engaging text includes a section with advice for aiding a child’s development by incorporating everyday items into playtime. Youngsters will be enthralled by Medonza’s stunning digital illustrations—especially the images of stars—which create moments packed with childish wonder and energy.
A charming story that encourages children to use their imaginations.Pub Date: May 12, 2026
ISBN: 9781739007096
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Sunshine and Rain Co.
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Nothing new here but a nonetheless congenial matriculant in publishing’s autumnal rite of back-to-school offerings.
The Crayons head back to class in this latest series entry.
Daywalt’s expository text lays out the basics as various Crayons wave goodbye to the beach, choose a first-day outfit, greet old friends, and make new ones. As in previous outings, the perennially droll illustrations and hand-lettered Crayon-speak drive the humor. The ever wrapperless Peach, opining, “What am I going to wear?” surveys three options: top hat and tails, a chef’s toque and apron, and a Santa suit. New friends Chunky Toddler Crayon (who’s missing a bite-sized bit of their blue point) and Husky Toddler Crayon speculate excitedly on their common last name: “I wonder if we’re related!” White Crayon, all but disappearing against the page’s copious white space, sits cross-legged reading a copy of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. And Yellow and Orange, notable for their previous existential argument about the color of the sun, find agreement in science class: Jupiter, clearly, is yellow AND orange. Everybody’s excited about art class—“Even if they make a mess. Actually…ESPECIALLY if they make a mess!” Here, a spread of crayoned doodles of butterflies, hearts, and stars is followed by one with fulsome scribbles. Fans of previous outings will spot cameos from Glow in the Dark and yellow-caped Esteban (the Crayon formerly known as Pea Green). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nothing new here but a nonetheless congenial matriculant in publishing’s autumnal rite of back-to-school offerings. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: May 16, 2023
ISBN: 9780593621110
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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