Though well meaning, this circle is a bit broken.
A circle grows larger and more inclusive.
Children—diverse in gender, skin tone, ethnicity, hairstyle and color, and physical ability—meet while playing, initially separately, in the park. What unites them is engagement with round things: toys (ball, balloons, Frisbees, hula hoops); playground equipment; wheeled items (bike, wheelchair); and other circular objects (bubbles, cookies). The group expands in size and fun. After the kids clasp hands to form a literal circle, one child observes that a newcomer (with a dog) has just arrived. Guess who completes the friendship ring? This ode to kindness and a welcoming spirit is cheerful and textually minimal, focusing on number words one to 10, active verbs, and the words circle or circles in boldfaced larger type. Lively ink illustrations feature smiling children enjoying one another’s company and also, notably, being mutually helpful. One child uses a wheelchair and is fairly actively engaged in play; another wears hearing aids; a third, eyeglasses. Unfortunately, some illustrations suffer from a lack of clarity. On the first spread, captioned “One circle,” for instance, the verso shows a basketball, the recto, a bike. Kids would likely describe the bike’s wheels as round, therefore rightly claiming the spread includes three circles; the subsequent spread features the basketball and bike with the caption “Two circles”—but, arguably, again three circles. And so on. These interpretations may lead to conversation or frustration.
Though well meaning, this circle is a bit broken. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-62354-152-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their...
Ruby is an adventurous and happy child until the day she discovers a Worry.
Ruby barely sees the Worry—depicted as a blob of yellow with a frowny unibrow—at first, but as it hovers, the more she notices it and the larger it grows. The longer Ruby is affected by this Worry, the fewer colors appear on the page. Though she tries not to pay attention to the Worry, which no one else can see, ignoring it prevents her from enjoying the things that she once loved. Her constant anxiety about the Worry causes the bright yellow blob to crowd Ruby’s everyday life, which by this point is nearly all washes of gray and white. But at the playground, Ruby sees a boy sitting on a bench with a growing sky-blue Worry of his own. When she invites the boy to talk, his Worry begins to shrink—and when Ruby talks about her own Worry, it also grows smaller. By the book’s conclusion, Ruby learns to control her Worry by talking about what worries her, a priceless lesson for any child—or adult—conveyed in a beautifully child-friendly manner. Ruby presents black, with hair in cornrows and two big afro-puff pigtails, while the boy has pale skin and spiky black hair.
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their feelings (. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0237-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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