Featuring siblings with diverse interests but similar talents, this tale works well as a counter to titles about rivalries.
Two blue-eyed sisters realize that their different pursuits share a lot of qualities in this debut picture book.
Blonde-haired Emma loves sitting on top of the monkey bars, but redheaded Bella wants to play tag, telling her sibling she has to participate “because you’re my sister!” When Emma watches Bella’s baseball game, she thinks about how dissimilar they are. The two sisters regularly compare their interests, baseball and ballet. But they also celebrate each other’s strengths: Emma congratulates her sister on a home run, and Bella praises Emma for her grand jeté. When Bella sprains her ankle before the last game of the season, Emma takes her place, using her balletic style to reach home plate. The huge-eyed cartoon characters by debut illustrator Warms come alive against the pastel backgrounds. She uses light and shading to great effect and includes some variety in the skin tones among the ballerinas and ball players. The game’s climactic play shows Emma’s grace and athleticism. But the theme of sibling differences in Lavergne’s story leaves some unresolved tension: Emma is good at her sister’s sport while Bella is jealous of Emma’s splits. Still, the solidarity the siblings display, with Emma readily covering for Bella, deftly underscores the importance of teamwork.
Featuring siblings with diverse interests but similar talents, this tale works well as a counter to titles about rivalries.Pub Date: May 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5255-2203-1
Page Count: 36
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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