Fans of the Free To Be You And Me style of children’s literature will appreciate the inspiring message about developing...
A motivational picture book by author Sarno-Doyle designed to teach kids about exploring their own abilities and hobbies.
Using the metaphor of an “inside shape” for the inner being, Sarno-Doyle aims to teach kids to weigh inner values over outer appearances. Written for very young children, the book is bright and full of lively images. In 30-some pages, the author explains the difference between “outside shape” (hair, clothes, ethnicity, etc.) and “inside shape,” the inner interests that children need to develop to become full-fledged, happy individuals. Many of the possible interests here are professional and educational—science, animal welfare, books, mathematics. The book also offers inspiration for kids to develop extracurricular activities, including sports and fishing. There are several open-ended prompts at the beginning of the book to get readers started: “I like to...” or “I don’t like to....” These questions are designed to help children explore their strengths and the skills they want to learn. Interestingly, the author doesn’t linger on the influence of “outside shapes,” such as gender or ethnicity, in shaping individual children’s personal identities, even in a positive manner (like Karen Katz’s The Colors of Us) that could help kids’ self-esteem if they feel externally judged or different from their classmates. The book’s abbreviated length, too, means that the range of topics is narrow. Charmingly illustrated by Jennings with old-fashioned images of children at play, the text will appeal to parents looking for inspiring books for their young children.
Fans of the Free To Be You And Me style of children’s literature will appreciate the inspiring message about developing children’s passions.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0982446102
Page Count: 32
Publisher: SDP Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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