Enigmatic—but warm and almost oddly optimistic.
A child loses their mother, but part of her spirit stays, colorfully embodied.
“Something very beautiful and strange happened when Mama was told she was sick. She came home from the hospital with a magical creature.” The creature’s huge and calm, with floppy ears, a soft texture, and comfortingly unruly fur. Pinks and yellows color its body; tidbits of various hues twinkle around it like stars. Mama’s type of “sick” isn’t defined, and the text says only that she “slips away” and “is gone”; some readers may need help understanding that she dies. The creature—who lives on with the family post-bereavement—is somehow part of Mama, though the equation’s not made specific. The cover tagline (“Losing a loved one doesn’t mean losing their love”) and author’s note convey that the creature is Mama’s love, but the text is cryptic: “The creature is strong, like the strongest part of her. The part that loves me so much.” What’s abundantly clear, though, is that this creature brings warmth and color to a mourning household. Aside from the creature, Heath’s small, gentle drawings are mostly black and white except when the creature’s colors flow onto other beings and objects. Copious white space surrounds the illustrations, showing that nothing matters here except loving Mama, losing her, and finding beauty again afterward. Child, Mama, and the remaining parent all have pale skin.
Enigmatic—but warm and almost oddly optimistic. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-5014-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Rodale Kids
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.
In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.
Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781250393975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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