An empowering, imaginative tale that simplifies the journey to becoming carefree.
A little girl learns to overcome her terrible worries in this empowering but simplistic picture book.
Zayny, a light-brown skinned girl with curly brown hair, is a huge worrier. She worries about germs and time, worms and limes. She worries about dreams before she falls asleep. Weather, being dirty, imaginary monsters, bee stings, hangnails, and people saying mean things are all on her long list of apprehensions. She decides to take matters into her own hands: “Get out of my thoughts and out of my head! / Out of my dreams and from under my bed!” she tells her troubles. It’s the beginning of a new Zayny: Without her worries, she can have adventures and fun, and she can finally let herself be happy. Monet’s rhyming text ably captures many of the things that young worriers might fret about, some realistic and others far-fetched. However, young readers who share Zayny’s early anxious attitudes may scoff at how easily she sends her imagined problems packing. The illustrations depict the worries in various forms, but frequently as large, hairy monsters that hold Zayny helpless; the huge forms make Zayny appear smaller on the page, despite her cool clothing and hair styles and her huge eyes. Monet’s digital paintings are eye-catching, and though Zayny appears shiny and doll-like in some illustrations, her emotions shine through to reflect the text, both in her worry and once she is worry free.
An empowering, imaginative tale that simplifies the journey to becoming carefree.Pub Date: July 1, 2016
ISBN: 9780692749197
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Fifth Wonder Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 10, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
