A charmingly illustrated book with a strong heroine, a solid message, and an accessible vocabulary for newly independent...
Pink, glitter, and a curly-haired protagonist shout out the girl appeal of this lesson about accepting who you are and how you look.
The heroine wasn’t born the spiral-curled child gracing the front cover of this debut picture book. Readers are introduced to her first as a bald baby with an already expressive face and active demeanor. Her older siblings don’t know why her hair won’t grow. But when it finally sprouts, Curlee Girlee sports a full head of out-of-control hair, unlike everyone else in the family. While her nickname is given with affection, Curlee Girlee soon becomes frustrated with being different from her straight-haired siblings and parents. Although her mother tries to comfort her, Curlee Girlee takes steps to fix her hair herself. The precocious preschooler attempts to use a brush and water but only makes her hair even fluffier. She tries a rolling pin but only succeeds in causing a kitchen disaster. Then she concocts her own shampoo from strawberry syrup, honey, and other sticky ingredients, but the mess only gets worse. Eventually, after a dream of magic barrettes, Curlee Girlee snoops in her mother’s closet and discovers a photo of a relative with hair just like hers. Looking different from the rest of the family can be hard on children, especially during their preschool years. In Twersky’s tale, Curlee Girlee’s ability to accept herself just as she is does not come easily, which makes her journey feel realistic and earned. Some children will never have the validation of a relative who looks like them, but the love the heroine’s mother shows her daughter, even when she makes mistakes, provides comfort and opportunities for parents to discuss distinctions with questioning kids. Wolcott’s (Dream It! Do It!, 2015, etc.) illustrations are wonderful throughout, capturing Curlee Girlee’s spirit perfectly, with the exception of one seemingly misplaced image that is missing all the goop she’s created. Curlee Girlee’s features are pale, and her hair is light brown, but the infectious child, the loving family, and the moral of learning to like your own appearance should ring true even for those who don’t see themselves reflected in the cute pictures.
A charmingly illustrated book with a strong heroine, a solid message, and an accessible vocabulary for newly independent readers.Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9968438-1-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sandbox Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires.
Little Blue Truck feels, well, blue when he delivers valentine after valentine but receives nary a one.
His bed overflowing with cards, Blue sets out to deliver a yellow card with purple polka dots and a shiny purple heart to Hen, one with a shiny fuchsia heart to Pig, a big, shiny, red heart-shaped card to Horse, and so on. With each delivery there is an exchange of Beeps from Blue and the appropriate animal sounds from his friends, Blue’s Beeps always set in blue and the animal’s vocalization in a color that matches the card it receives. But as Blue heads home, his deliveries complete, his headlight eyes are sad and his front bumper droops ever so slightly. Blue is therefore surprised (but readers may not be) when he pulls into his garage to be greeted by all his friends with a shiny blue valentine just for him. In this, Blue’s seventh outing, it’s not just the sturdy protagonist that seems to be wilting. Schertle’s verse, usually reliable, stumbles more than once; stanzas such as “But Valentine’s Day / didn’t seem much fun / when he didn’t get cards / from anyone” will cause hitches during read-alouds. The illustrations, done by Joseph in the style of original series collaborator Jill McElmurry, are pleasant enough, but his compositions often feel stiff and forced.
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-27244-1
Page Count: 20
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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