A useful and compassionate tale about inclusivity for kids and parents.
A family learns about accepting and accommodating differences in this fourth installment of a picture-book series.
Princess Penelope gets along well with her brothers, Stewie and Zoom, which is easy because they enjoy doing the same things. But we’re not all alike, as Penelope’s teacher explains: “Everyone’s mind is something to appreciate, and it is important to have some fun with other kids who may seem to like very different things than you do.” Penelope has her doubts, but when her mother invites a classmate on the autism spectrum for a play date, she and her brothers are game. Welcoming someone with Eric’s sensitivities doesn’t come naturally for the boisterous siblings, but the get-together goes well, even when their classmate becomes overwhelmed at one point. The book includes play-date tips for neurotypical families and for parents of special needs kids. The team of Bronstein and Young (Stewie BOOM! and Princess Penelope: The Case of the Eweey, Gooey, Gross and Very Stinky Experiment, 2016, etc.) is realistic about such matters as the need to practice skills like using quiet voices or being flexible: “Stewie and I practiced not pitching a fit. It took some practicing,” says Penelope dryly. The children’s quick acceptance of behaviors like Eric’s arm flapping may be overly rosy, but the book does help prepare neurotypical kids for what to expect—including having fun. Young’s delightfully comic, affectionate illustrations with a diverse cast support and enrich the story.
A useful and compassionate tale about inclusivity for kids and parents.Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9972962-8-0
Page Count: 58
Publisher: Nothing But The Truth Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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