A devastatingly honest book about loss, mourning, and recovery.
A child’s-eye view of the emotional impact of losing a parent.
In a dark apartment building, a tan-skinned protagonist stares at a photograph—“the last picture of Mom and me and the last pot we planted together.” The young narrator explains that soon after the picture was taken, Mom died. Empty, a translucent, bloblike figure, showed up soon after and became the narrator’s new constant companion and sole friend. Empty not only rides the bus with the narrator and walks the child home from school, Empty also literally comes between the narrator and Dad at dinner, on trips to the amusement park, and at bedtime. Slowly but surely, the protagonist’s relationship with Empty changes. The shift begins when the plant that the narrator planted with Mom flowers, and the narrator gives Empty one of the flowers. Soon after, the protagonist and Empty adopt a lost kitten. Featuring exquisite, muted illustrations, this heartbreakingly tender story includes spare text in both English and Persian. The author and artist portray the protagonist’s grief starkly and frankly while leaving plenty of literal and metaphorical space for readers to apply their own experiences. The ambiguous ending—it’s not clear what becomes of Empty—may confuse some readers given that the plot is otherwise straightforward, but with grounding from caregivers and educators, it may also spark conversation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A devastatingly honest book about loss, mourning, and recovery. (Picture book. 2-8)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781643796222
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators.
Existing artwork from an artistic giant inspires a fairy-tale reimagination by a master of the horror genre.
In King’s interpretation of a classic Brothers Grimm story, which accompanies set and costume designs that the late Sendak created for a 1997 production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera, siblings Hansel and Gretel survive abandonment in the woods and an evil witch’s plot to gobble them up before finding their “happily ever after” alongside their father. Prose with the reassuring cadence of an old-timey tale, paired with Sendak’s instantly recognizable artwork, will lull readers before capitalizing on these creators’ knack for injecting darkness into seemingly safe spaces. Gaping faces loom in crevices of rocks and trees, and a gloomy palette of muted greens and ocher amplify the story’s foreboding tone, while King never sugarcoats the peach-skinned children’s peril. Branches with “clutching fingers” hide “the awful enchanted house” of a “child-stealing witch,” all portrayed in an eclectic mix of spot and full-bleed images. Featuring insults that might strike some as harsh (“idiot,” “fool”), the lengthy, dense text may try young readers’ patience, and the often overwhelmingly ominous mood feels more pitched to adults—particularly those familiar with King and Sendak—but an introduction acknowledges grandparents as a likely audience, and nostalgia may prompt leniency over an occasional disconnect between words and art.
Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780062644695
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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