A sensitive, reassuring, and well-illustrated work.
Two recently reunited rabbits discuss their feelings about their separation in Ghosh Ippen’s picture book.
Little Rabbit sighs and tells Big Rabbit, “When you weren’t with me, I missed you so much.” Little Rabbit wanted to be held, and Big Rabbit wanted to hug the youngster. Big Rabbit apologizes for not being there and reassures Little Rabbit that they’re together now. They acknowledge that Little Rabbit likely felt confused, scared, hurt, sad, angry, and alone. Big Rabbit wants to know what Little Rabbit did during their separation and if “good people” helped, although readers may wonder if they meant “good rabbits.” Ghosh Ippen, the associate director of the Child Trauma Research Program at the University of California, San Francisco, and illustrator Erich Ippen Jr. previously collaborated on Once I Was Very Very Scared (2017). The images effectively use washes of color; Little Rabbit is surrounded by orange when mad, dark blue when worried, green when having a stomachache, and mauve when frightened. Using nongendered rabbits helps to make the story universal and child-friendly. The rabbits start out quite far apart on green grass, but their distance lessens until they’re “quite close” and blue sky appears. The typeface is pleasant to read but uses only uppercase N’s, which may be confusing to young readers.
A sensitive, reassuring, and well-illustrated work.Pub Date: April 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-950168-01-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piplo Productions
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A tender book to help little ones make sense of the emotions around prayer.
Actor Metz and songwriter Collins join illustrator Fields in their second faith-related title for young children.
Instead of focusing on the language of prayer—what to say or how to say it—this book explores a topic central to the lives of the very young: their feelings around talking to God. Rhymes and near-rhymes in the AABB verses enumerate the simple challenges and triumphs experienced by a series of animals: “Sometimes I’m sad, not sure what to do. / There are days I feel teary, unhappy, or blue. / I fell off a log. I’m embarrassed and hurt. / My coat and paws are all covered in dirt.” An accompanying illustration depicts a sad wolf pup, a definite contrast to its siblings, who are delighting in their play. The highlight of the book is Fields’ animal characters. Whether happy, nervous, or sad, their expressive faces are easy to read, and their feelings will be familiar to young tots. The beaver’s frustration is palpable, and the tears in the scared raccoon’s eyes may just make readers’ own eyes well up. Some of the animals have a God stand-in to help them with their feelings—a friend or family member—but the final spread shows all the individual animals coming together in a couple of group hugs that express where children can find support (and sweetly defy predator–prey relationships).
A tender book to help little ones make sense of the emotions around prayer. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593691366
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
