Anodyne at best. (Picture book. 3-7)
Marlon Bundo, a black-and-white rabbit, helps out Grampa—the vice president—on what is represented as a typical day.
From “freshly brewed coffee” delivered by the Naval Enlisted Aides to “one little prayer before bed,” Marlon Bundo narrates the day’s events. In the West Wing, Grampa and Marlon start off with “the most important meeting…. / That’s the one with the president!” Then they head to the Capitol, “where Grampa presides over a vote.” (Which tie-breaking vote is not mentioned, so readers can imagine whether it’s confirming Betsy DeVos, gutting the Affordable Care Act, or some future controversy.) They then meet with “people from across America” with “questions and problems. / And Grampa helps answer each one.” Then it’s back to the Naval Observatory for a quick squint through its telescope, a phone call from “the president!” and a quiet reading of the Bible. Karen Pence is a competent watercolorist, creating double-page spreads that depict Marlon Bundo hopping through clearly recognizable, famous scenes. Save a white Secret Service agent who’s shown opening Grampa’s limo door, humans are depicted mostly as feet or hands, none of them of color. Charlotte Pence’s verse is frankly execrable, torturing syntax and introducing nonsensical detail in order to maintain rhyme and meter. Additional information is offered in three pages of notes misleadingly labeled “resources.” Proceeds go to A21 and Tracy's Kids.
Anodyne at best. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62157-776-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Regnery Kids
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
A muddled message shoots for the moon but never quite gets all the way off the ground.
A little mouse experiences BIG changes thanks to a spectacular talent.
Dee’s a singer to her core. She croons absolutely everywhere, so when her teacher Miss Pink suggests that her students bring in something that symbolizes what they enjoy doing, Dee brings in a song. As she sings it, however, her joy causes her to physically grow huge! At first this makes her feel special, but as the day goes on she feels lonely and out of place. Shrinking back to her normal size, she worries that this means she can never sing again. But thanks to the encouragement of her mother and little sister, she realizes that being special is nothing to be ashamed of. However, though her classmates have skills of their own, only Dee changes, indicating that some talents are more transformative than others. After all, while everyone is enthralled by Dee, Ren the turtle’s talent for drawing a replica of a space station is something he “made everyone watch.” The true standout in this show comes from Sinquett’s dynamic art, capable of encompassing the emotional highs and lows of elementary school kids. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A muddled message shoots for the moon but never quite gets all the way off the ground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-07806-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Encouraging.
Persistence pays off for a piglet.
Frustrations, depicted in a series of vignettes, overwhelm a young pig when success seems constantly out of reach, or “not yet.” Not yet ready to bike without training wheels, not yet tall enough for the roller coaster, not yet old enough for the baseball team, not yet in tune on the violin. Even the pancakes aren’t ready to flip. “YET, YET, YET!” wails the piglet. “How do I get to YET?” the piglet asks a grown-up pig in a purple tunic. The instructive response, that things improve, often with practice, is delivered in a rhymed text that goes down easy: “The path to YET / is not a straight line. / It takes growing and doing, / patience and time.” A few more vignettes demonstrate that there will be challenges along the way: Arithmetic problems go awry, spelling means mistakes, knitting is tricky, and watercolor painting drips. “You’ll get sad and angry, / but don’t you quit— / you have power and courage, / and that’s called GRIT.” Cocca-Leffler’s art is lighthearted, and the activities of the child pig will be familiar to most. The value of a growth mindset—working toward small goals, waiting for the right time, and learning patience and resilience—is indisputable. Though the coaching advice here feels slightly formulaic and the rhymed delivery echoes similarly inspirational offerings, the piglet is winsomely appealing and the accomplishments within reach of the audience. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 37.3% of actual size.)
Encouraging. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4003-9
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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