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
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
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.
A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.
Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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