A silly tale about manners gets exuberant pictures to match. Robert goes to a late-night party for Great-Gran Sadie. In the car they practice “Please” and “Thank you” and “Excuse me.” During the party, Robert tastes foods and puts back the ones he dislikes, prompting a “Don’t do that” from Daddy. Henceforth, “Don’t do that” is the running commentary on all of Robert’s activities. Chastised for everything from spitting out drinks to shining shoes under the dinner table, Robert finds the party disappointing—until it’s time to dance. His wiggling, quaking dance style evokes a “Don’t do that” from everyone in the room—except Great-Gran Sadie, who cheers “DO THAT AGAIN!” His night is made and they dance together. It’s always fun to see a child break away from stultifying rules and this one does it with charmingly child-like style. Karas’s drawings are full of spirit, just like Robert and Great-Gran Sadie. (Picture book. 2-4)
Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2005
ISBN: 0-374-30394-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Melanie Kroupa/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2005
Simple words and big concepts will make this a godsend to parents at their wit's end.
This book seeks to use the power of persuasion to vanquish that most formidable of opponents: toddlers.
In this entry in the Big Kid Power series, a little black girl makes no bones about the fact that pacifiers (or “binkies”) are strictly baby territory. When she was little she needed one, but that was then. Whether she’s tired, sad, or hungry, there are other ways of being comforted: hugs and polite requests, for instance. After she gives her binky to a baby and bids it a very clear goodbye, the book ends with a triumphant, “I’M A BIG KID!” Using a striking color combination of orange, brown, and black, van Lieshout keeps her pages bold and bright, complementing the simple vocabulary. Such declarations as, “Do I still have a binky? // NO, BIG KIDS DON’T NEED A BINKY. / NOPE!” leave scant wiggle room for argument. In her author’s note at the end, van Lieshout says that after speaking to many parents about how they helped their kids bid their pacifiers adieu, “many of them had in common…a ritual of some sort.” The ritual here seems to be giving the pacifier away, though it may be missed by many readers. Companion title I Use the Potty uses a similar approach, with a proud, white boy as its guide.
Simple words and big concepts will make this a godsend to parents at their wit's end. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4521-3536-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
A cute and encouraging primer on what goes down at school.
A cheery white tot experiences the first day of school.
In first-person narration conveyed in rhyming couplets, the child dresses in jeans and T-shirt, eats breakfast, gets dropped off by Dad, and joins new classmates for a fun day at school. The child’s class has a diverse population, and the book’s tone is enthusiastically reassuring. The kids play outside, learn their ABCs, paint, and more. “We practice saying ‘thanks’ and ‘please,’ / and how to block germs when we sneeze.” Here, the kids all earnestly sneeze into their elbows while their teacher, a white woman, holds a box of tissues. All along the children are smiling in the ubiquitous board-book style, but as a balm for school-day jitters, the calm colors and smiling faces are effective. This title isn’t a must read, but if a little reader is nervous about going to school this title will do the trick. Judging by the size of the school and the sidewalk drop-off routine, these kids are going to kindergarten rather than preschool, which makes the audience for this board book unclear. Children of an age to require board pages aren’t ready for kindergarten, and those who are are mostly accustomed to longer books with paper pages. However, toddler siblings of new kindergartners will enjoy this peek at an older sibling’s day.
A cute and encouraging primer on what goes down at school. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8249-1657-2
Page Count: 20
Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
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