A sensitive answer to a potentially insensitive and sadly common school exercise.
A school assignment to create a family tree and present it to the class causes anxiety in Emmylou—until the child comes to a new understanding of family.
Emmylou’s classmates’ trees seem to have branches on branches, but the youngster has just two: “Mama and me.” Tentatively, Emmylou broaches the subject with Mama, starting by asking, “What was my grandmother’s name?” Mama answers; then her “lips press together / tight / tight / tight” before offering one more tidbit: The recipe for the cake Mama is baking came from Emmylou’s grandmother. Listeners don’t learn why “Mama never says” the names of Emmylou’s father or grandfather, but it’s clear Emmylou is nevertheless part of a supportive community. Subsequent pages interleave other students’ presentations with Emmylou’s interactions with loving, caring neighbors, and little ones will likely be ahead of Emmylou in arriving at the answer to the dilemma. Sure enough, on the day of the presentation, Mr. Li, Mrs. Patel, and Rosa and Gabriel and their twins join Grandma Louella, Mama, and Emmylou on the found-family tree. References to Emmylou’s “good ear” indicate that the youngster is hard of hearing. Hu threads ginkgo branches through her muted, watercolor-in-digital illustrations with the same nuance Birdsong brings to her text. Appearing both symbolically and literally, the branches gracefully reinforce the story’s themes. Both Emmylou and Mama have straight, brown hair and pale skin; their neighborhood is robustly diverse.
A sensitive answer to a potentially insensitive and sadly common school exercise. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780823453962
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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