A wonderful resource to help prepare children for medical intervention after an injury.
After an accident, a girl finds support, comfort, and care from kind medical staff in Kollias’ debut picture book.
Maria and her brother are jumping on the couch when she falls and breaks her arm. At the hospital, she encounters caring doctors and nurses who provide her with explanations to help her feel safe. For example, a nurse uses a blood pressure cuff to see “how well Maria’s HEART was working to pump blood around her body.” Maria also receives an IV and x-rays, and she receives medicine that puts her to sleep so that a doctor can make her arm straight. The author, an orthopedic surgeon, depicts medical processes using child-friendly language (“an x-ray is a picture of bones…taken with a special camera that can see through skin”). Overall, the story takes readers on a realistic journey, which concludes when Maria gets her cast removed. It also introduces educational elements, including anatomical terms: “Dr. Anna said Maria’s body was making ‘CALLUS’…a big ball of bone glue. The glue had calcium in it, to make…broken bones heal.” Guile’s (Bear Picks a Pumpkin, 2018, etc.) top-notch illustrations are charming and colorful, with diverse characters. They emphasize friendly faces, which will be particularly encouraging to young patients in similar circumstances.
A wonderful resource to help prepare children for medical intervention after an injury.Pub Date: June 5, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-228-80221-1
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Review Posted Online: Sept. 5, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves
A young child explores the unlimited potential inherent in all humans.
“Have you ever wondered why you are here?” asks the second-person narration. There is no one like you. Maybe you’re here to make a difference with your uniqueness; maybe you will speak for those who can’t or use your gifts to shine a light into the darkness. The no-frills, unrhymed narrative encourages readers to follow their hearts and tap into their limitless potential to be anything and do anything. The precisely inked and colored artwork plays with perspective from the first double-page spread, in which the child contemplates a mountain (or maybe an iceberg) in their hands. Later, they stand on a ladder to place white spots on tall, red mushrooms. The oversized flora and fauna seem to symbolize the presumptively insurmountable, reinforcing the book’s message that anything is possible. This quiet read, with its sophisticated central question, encourages children to reach for their untapped potential while reminding them it won’t be easy—they will make messes and mistakes—but the magic within can help overcome falls and failures. It’s unlikely that members of the intended audience have begun to wonder about their life’s purpose, but this life-affirming mood piece has honorable intentions. The child, accompanied by an adorable piglet and sporting overalls and a bird-beaked cap made of leaves, presents white.
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves . (Picture book. 2-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-946873-75-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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