Lively, entertaining, and educational to boot.
A little boy imagines all the different things he might be...and do.
Each stanza of Merz and Blow's rhyming text begins with "If I were made of..." and amusingly shows, as well as tells, a variety of possibilities, all the more appealing for their unexpectedness. As "scales and fins," he's green with webbed hands and feet and mossy hair, swimming near a friendly crab and a sunken ship. As "water," he's an amorphous blue blob with a face, filling a tub in which a little girl floats a rubber duck. As "needles," he's a cactus who just happens to be the best soccer goalie ever. As "twigs and leaves," he's a heavily populated tree, with an owl family, a turkey, all manner of singing birds, and others nesting in him. As "feathers," he can run and jump but, wingless, not quite manage to fly. Other flights of imagination find the boy made of fluffy stuff, soapy suds, candy, cobwebs, flowers, and metal. Best of all, when he imagines himself as himself (that is, made of "skin and bones"), the amount of amazing things he can do makes him feel “quite content and lucky to be ME!” A helpful addendum called "Next Steps" offers teachers a handful of follow-up activities. The crisp, apt verse leaves ample room for Merz's rib-tickling cartoonlike illustrations, done in bright colors. While the narrator is Caucasian, other humans depicted demonstrate a nice variety of diversity.
Lively, entertaining, and educational to boot. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-78493-042-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: QEB Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Egg-stra special.
The creators of Pick a Pine Tree (2017) and Pick a Pumpkin (2019) cover each step of a popular Easter tradition.
The first stop for a light-skinned caregiver and child is the farm. Peering into the henhouse, they spot an egg (reminding readers that eggs don’t originate at the grocery store). More eggs are collected throughout the spring countryside and brought home, ready to hard boil. While the eggs are cooling, it’s time to prepare the dye! The lively text highlights natural methods first (“Stew some plants / to make a brew: / beets turn eggs / a rosy hue. / Spinach? Green! / Berries? Blue! / Try some herbs / or spices, too”) but also gives a nod to store-bought kits. After a full day of egg decorating, the youngster wakes up the next morning for a festive neighborhood egg hunt. Happily, treats found inside plastic eggs are not limited to sugar only; they include secret notes, tiny toys, and coins, too. (The child adds their dyed eggs to this bounty.) Sprays of bright greens, a shining sun, and dotted buds on trees as well as pastel bunting and fuzzy bunny ears and flower crowns on little ones bring a light, airy lift to this joyful community gathering. The children involved in the egg hunt are diverse in skin tone. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Egg-stra special. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2847-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
A sweet sisterhood seaside story.
Little Jules is determined to impress her big sister with an amazing sand castle…
…but the Ocean has other plans! Sima’s story hinges on Jules’ adoration of her big sister (unnamed and with slightly darker brown skin than Jules’ and their mom’s). When Mom brings them to the beach, Jules immediately starts building while her sister goes off with a boogie board. Jules toils away, and as the tide rolls in, the Ocean demolishes her creation. While Jules takes the Ocean’s destruction personally, her sister says, “this happens to everyone” before heading back out to the waves. Jules is discouraged as she sees other kids’ impressive, still-standing sand castles, but she persists only to be thwarted again by the Ocean. Her lowest point comes when the tides sweep away her bucket. Big sister comes to the rescue—not to save it but to help build another castle, using only their hands. It’s “definitely the BIGGEST…FANCIEST…MOST EXCELLENT” castle, but then, “Uh-oh.” A massive, spread-spanning CRASH! both obliterates the castle and leaves Jules and her sister exhilarated, and they race back to tell their mom what’s happened. In a twist that feels lifted from a Bob Graham story, “Mom assures them that happens to everyone.” Sima’s big-nosed cartoons are also reminiscent of Graham’s, in both the character-developing details (Jules’ ears stick out through her bobbed haircut endearingly) and their obvious affection for one another.
A sweet sisterhood seaside story. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4168-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
