A warm, informative, and exuberant ode to an everyday utensil and the cultures that cherish it.
In Ward’s able hands, the humble chopstick becomes a window into culture, tradition, and quotidian joys.
Opening with the statement that “chopsticks are a tool,” the playful text blossoms into an energetic celebration of the many roles these utensils play—as essential kitchen helpers for stirring and swirling, as nimble extensions of the hand for picking up everything from natto to cheese puffs, and as reminders of past meals with loved ones. With its global perspective, the book makes clear that chopsticks have traveled across continents with families, anchoring meals and customs “from China to Japan, Korea, and Cambodia. From Vietnam to Singapore, Malaysia to Taiwan, and around the world.” References to culturally specific rituals where chopsticks are used—for instance, Okuizome, observed in Japan to mark a baby’s first meal—demonstrate how a familiar object can carry deeper meaning. Scurfield’s illustrations are rich, colorful, and action-oriented, each spread reflecting a different setting through foods, clothing, and table arrangements and working seamlessly with the text to emphasize the diversity of chopstick styles—in length, shape, and design. Robust backmatter exploring chopsticks’ origins, material, and etiquette enhances the book educational value.
A warm, informative, and exuberant ode to an everyday utensil and the cultures that cherish it. (food index) (Informational picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9781797227368
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40.
From two Nobel Peace Prize winners, an invitation to look past sadness and loneliness to the joy that surrounds us.
Bobbing in the wake of 2016’s heavyweight Book of Joy (2016), this brief but buoyant address to young readers offers an earnest insight: “If you just focus on the thing that is making / you sad, then the sadness is all you see. / But if you look around, you will / see that joy is everywhere.” López expands the simply delivered proposal in fresh and lyrical ways—beginning with paired scenes of the authors as solitary children growing up in very different circumstances on (as they put it) “opposite sides of the world,” then meeting as young friends bonded by streams of rainbow bunting and going on to share their exuberantly hued joy with a group of dancers diverse in terms of age, race, culture, and locale while urging readers to do the same. Though on the whole this comes off as a bit bland (the banter and hilarity that characterized the authors’ recorded interchanges are absent here) and their advice just to look away from the sad things may seem facile in view of what too many children are inescapably faced with, still, it’s hard to imagine anyone in the world more qualified to deliver such a message than these two. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48423-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
Adults looking for an easy entry into this subject will not be disappointed.
This book presents a simplified explanation of the role the atmosphere plays in controlling climate.
The authors present a planet as a ball and its atmosphere as a blanket that envelops the ball. If the blanket is thick, the planet will be hot, as is the case for Venus. If the blanket is thin, the planet is cold, as with Mars. Planet Earth has a blanket that traps “just the right amount of heat.” The authors explain trees, animals, and oceans are part of what makes Earth’s atmosphere “just right.” “But…Uh-oh! People on Earth are changing the blanket!” The book goes on to explain how some human activities are sending “greenhouse gases” into the atmosphere, thus “making the blanket heavier and thicker” and “making Earth feel unwell.” In the case of a planet feeling unwell, what would the symptoms be? Sea-level rises that lead to erosion, flooding, and island loss, along with extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, blizzards, and wildfires. Ending on a constructive note, the authors name a few of the remedies to “help our Earth before it’s too late!” By using the blanket analogy, alongside simple and clear illustrations, this otherwise complex topic becomes very accessible to young children, though caregivers will need to help with the specialized vocabulary.
Adults looking for an easy entry into this subject will not be disappointed. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8082-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
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