Ruby is so repellent before her metamorphosis readers will be hard put to care for her when it comes. (Picture book. 4-7)
Bright candy colors and rhyming text characterize this tale of an utterly self-centered princess and her gentle dad, the king.
Princess Ruby’s birthday is coming up, and she wants a zillion presents, and she wants the best party, and she has the palace staff and her father at a run. Even her frizzy hair looks demanding. When the big day finally comes, she opens the biggest present and demands more. Well, there are presents everywhere: on the stairs, in all the bedrooms and even piled in the bathrooms. Ruby is delighted until an ominous cracking and creaking reveal the palace is about to collapse under the weight of all the gifts. The king sends Ruby outside to safety, and she tells him he must rescue every single present! When the castle does indeed collapse, Ruby realizes that what is dearest to her is her dad, and with the help of firefighters and citizenry, the king is found safe, protected by the cardboard box that held her treehouse. Undergoing a complete change of heart, Ruby serves a little cake and tea to everyone, and she “live[s] happily ever after / with her daddy in the tree.” The predominant color for everything is an acid pink, although the last image fades to a prettier pastel palette.
Ruby is so repellent before her metamorphosis readers will be hard put to care for her when it comes. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7398-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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