No rotten bananas here.
The Food Is Fun Healthy Eating Good Nutrition Pageant is great…unless you are the Second Banana.
All 15 of Mrs. Millet’s students are excited each year for the pageant. Each gets to play a different healthy food, but this year there are 16 students. When everyone is assigned a role, it turns out there will be two bananas. The narrator is not pleased. This kid wants to be the only banana. Mrs. Millet is consoling, but she doesn’t understand. And the little Second Banana’s family doesn’t even sympathize—they just make banana puns. The class rehearses all month long, and throughout, the Second Banana fumes at getting only half a line and half as much time on stage! Two days before the pageant, the kid realizes that First Banana doesn’t seem happy either. It turns out First Banana doesn’t want to be onstage at all. Second Banana tries to cheer up First, but to no avail. Thinking fast, the narrator has a bright idea for a new show finale and ends up with a new friend. Thornburgh’s school story about making the best of a less-than-optimal situation and showing kindness and empathy for a new friend will ap-peel (sorry) to young readers and listeners, who will easily identify. Berube’s expressive cartoons are a good match—those food costumes are pretty funny. Both bananas have pale skin, Mrs. Millet is a woman of color, and the rest of the class is diverse and includes one child who uses a wheelchair. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.3-by-18.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 83.5% of actual size.)
No rotten bananas here. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4234-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
Black and brown nature lovers, here’s one to read and share
Mother-daughter author-illustrator team Anne (who passed away in April 2018) and Lizzy Rockwell have crafted a quiet story that positively portrays a black family spending time in nature. While this shouldn’t be a news flash in 2018, it is.
A black family—mom, dad, and daughter—drives 20 minutes away from their suburb for a day hike up Hickory Hill, where they enjoy the flora, fauna, and autumnal changes. The higher they climb, the sparser the vegetation becomes until they reach the summit and take in the expansive views. This picture book offers a rare snapshot of a family of color spending quality family time in the woods. Since they think they are lost at one point, perhaps they have not hiked often, but this does not dampen their enthusiasm. Several animals make an appearance in the watercolor illustrations, done in a soft, mostly pastel palette, including a porcupine, birds, a deer, a chipmunk, and a toad. The young female narrator describes the woodpecker she sees as redheaded; this, too, suggests that she hasn’t done much bird-watching since the bird is a pileated woodpecker, and a kid who had grown up birding would know it by both sound and sight. Still, readers will appreciate the daughter’s delight as she chooses the trail to hike and really notices her surroundings.
Black and brown nature lovers, here’s one to read and share . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2737-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
A muddled message shoots for the moon but never quite gets all the way off the ground.
A little mouse experiences BIG changes thanks to a spectacular talent.
Dee’s a singer to her core. She croons absolutely everywhere, so when her teacher Miss Pink suggests that her students bring in something that symbolizes what they enjoy doing, Dee brings in a song. As she sings it, however, her joy causes her to physically grow huge! At first this makes her feel special, but as the day goes on she feels lonely and out of place. Shrinking back to her normal size, she worries that this means she can never sing again. But thanks to the encouragement of her mother and little sister, she realizes that being special is nothing to be ashamed of. However, though her classmates have skills of their own, only Dee changes, indicating that some talents are more transformative than others. After all, while everyone is enthralled by Dee, Ren the turtle’s talent for drawing a replica of a space station is something he “made everyone watch.” The true standout in this show comes from Sinquett’s dynamic art, capable of encompassing the emotional highs and lows of elementary school kids. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A muddled message shoots for the moon but never quite gets all the way off the ground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-07806-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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