A lovely, poetic, and compassionate tale with appealing images.
This picture book for all ages explores the difficulty of finding connections and meaning.
A curious, alienlike creature with an elephant’s trunk, pointy ears, enormous dark eyes, angel’s wings, and a Santa suit gazes shyly at readers from the first page. Maybe, the work suggests, this is how some of us might imagine an angel. Angels could take other forms, such as animals (so be kind to them). The story then shares a string of thoughtful observations. Our big brains are a gift, but sometimes they make us painfully aware of our loneliness or difference. We’re always hoping to encounter kindred spirits and experience a sense of relationship with the wonders of our existence: “If we are fortunate, we may connect with someone else—another native alien—from time to time.” Sometimes, though, we’re sidetracked or frightened. Even then, “monsters and demons are also creatures of light deep under the water,” with whom we also have a kinship. Curiosity, companionship, and angels in our lives will help us to feel truly at home, in a place where we’re loved and we belong. The tale offers a blessing that can help readers get to that place: “May we always be on the look-out for small, ordinary magic.” In her second picture book, puppeteer and playwright Sawyer tells a charming and lyrical story about the difficulties of and remedies for isolation. Well-chosen quotations from Mary Oliver and David Bowie bracket the tale, their very different styles somehow converging on the theme of imagination’s power to overcome distance. The story’s appreciation for oddity is both moving and hope-giving. The author’s illustrations have the appearance of blue ballpoint-pen lines filled in with gray, grayish-blue, and rich red accent colors. They have a naïve, quirky quality that fits in well with the text.
A lovely, poetic, and compassionate tale with appealing images.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 19
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: March 18, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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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
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