by Carmen Agra Deedy ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2020
Humorous repetition lightens the quarrel, and readers learn that forgiveness is a process.
Anger can sometimes cause ridiculous mishaps.
Rita and Ralph live some distance from each other, with many hills between their two homes. Every day they travel “down the hill, and up the hill, and down the hill, and up the hill,” until they meet at the apple tree in the middle, where they high-five each other before playing. One day, they decide to play a new game called Sticks and Stones. Rita ends up with a painful lump on her head, and they both run away. Ralph realizes that he has hurt his best friend. He needs to apologize. So he travels the entire distance to her house: “down the hill, and up the hill, and down the hill…aaaaand up the hill.” By that time, he is cranky and doesn’t sound very sorry while apologizing. He runs all the way home. Rita realizes she may have been a bit rash, so (including all of those hills, which will be a gas in storytime) she goes to apologize to Ralph. But again, it doesn’t quite work. “It has been a rotten day.” Luckily, the next one is much better! The horizontal trim brilliantly showcases Oswald’s expansive art and the distance between the two chums while the typography is set so it emulates the hilly path. Deedy’s author’s note acknowledges inspiration from the popular hand game “Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle.” Rita and Ralph both have brown skin and dark hair.
Humorous repetition lightens the quarrel, and readers learn that forgiveness is a process. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-21638-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
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by Pip Jones ; illustrated by Sara Ogilvie ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2020
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their...
Ruby is an adventurous and happy child until the day she discovers a Worry.
Ruby barely sees the Worry—depicted as a blob of yellow with a frowny unibrow—at first, but as it hovers, the more she notices it and the larger it grows. The longer Ruby is affected by this Worry, the fewer colors appear on the page. Though she tries not to pay attention to the Worry, which no one else can see, ignoring it prevents her from enjoying the things that she once loved. Her constant anxiety about the Worry causes the bright yellow blob to crowd Ruby’s everyday life, which by this point is nearly all washes of gray and white. But at the playground, Ruby sees a boy sitting on a bench with a growing sky-blue Worry of his own. When she invites the boy to talk, his Worry begins to shrink—and when Ruby talks about her own Worry, it also grows smaller. By the book’s conclusion, Ruby learns to control her Worry by talking about what worries her, a priceless lesson for any child—or adult—conveyed in a beautifully child-friendly manner. Ruby presents black, with hair in cornrows and two big afro-puff pigtails, while the boy has pale skin and spiky black hair.
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their feelings (. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0237-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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