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I LIKE YOUR FACE

Name: I LIKE YOUR FACE
Author: Brad Davidson
ISBN: 9781525312977

by Brad Davidson ; illustrated by Rachel Más Davidson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 2, 2025

A sweet celebration of childhood friendship.

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These pals know and love everything about each other.

“I like your face. It’s super special. Like an ultra-rare trading card or that giant pink octopus at the aquarium.” So begins a tribute to friendship between two adorable tots. Though the tale is narrated in first person, it’s never clear which is speaking, but the loving sentiments are clearly felt by both. These youngsters know each other—and their faces—so well that they could spot one another “in a crowd of a million gazillion people.” The kids list all the faces they enjoy making—silly ones, “hangry” ones, even the “holding-in-a-fart” face. Davidson’s text is rife with goofy, kid-friendly humor, but it also offers comforting revelations: “We even know each other’s ‘Pretending-to-Be-Brave Faces…although when we’re together, I never feel like I have to pretend.” For these two, friendship means listening, showing up, being a team, and feeling safe enough to reveal one’s vulnerable side; friends are the people who will empathize with and understand you no matter what. Más Davidson’s cartoon illustrations place the round-headed youngsters in a variety of entertaining situations: watching fireworks, attending school, and (in a scene where they envision the future) still friends as elders winning a Halloween costume at their retirement community. Uncluttered backgrounds keep the emphasis on their shining, expressive faces. One of the kids presents Black; the other is pale-skinned and dark-haired.

A sweet celebration of childhood friendship. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025

ISBN: 9781525312977

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
POCKET FULL OF SADS
by Brad Davidson ; illustrated by Rachel Más Davidson

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)