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EVERYBODY'S SOMEWHERE

Name: EVERYBODY'S SOMEWHERE
Author: Cornelia Maude Spelman
ISBN: 978-1-63322-384-4

by Cornelia Maude Spelman ; illustrated by Alea Marley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 17, 2017

If the singsong text loses cadence on occasion, still it lulls, making this an altogether comforting package.

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The anxiety that comes from being separated can be eased when youngsters can imagine themselves in the universe while picturing where others might be.

In this quiet picture book, the author of The Way I Feel series sensitively, playfully explores the idea. It begins with a question posed in bouncy type: “Everybody’s somewhere, / Where are you?” This eventually leads to the answer: “Each of us is somewhere / Here or there. / Each of us is someone / In our own somewhere.” A multicultural cast of “someones” is depicted in a variety of situations, whether inside or outside, under sun or clouds, flying in a plane or running in a marathon. One affecting scene featuring a servicewoman captures the tension of separation while offering the reassurance of homecoming: “Somebody’s at home, / Someone’s gone away. / I’m feeling very happy / When my someone comes to stay.” The concept of an imaginary place is also introduced when readers see a young girl dreaming of riding a dinosaur. Textured digital art in warm, atmospheric colors reflects the change from day to dusk to night, and the characters’ faces are always cheery.

If the singsong text loses cadence on occasion, still it lulls, making this an altogether comforting package. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-63322-384-4

Page Count: 35

Publisher: Seagrass/Quarto

Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL SCIENCES

- BOOK REVIEW
WHEN I FEEL WORRIED
by Cornelia Maude Spelman ; illustrated by Kathy Parkinson

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YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.

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A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.

A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: June 9, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
CON POLLO
by Jimmy Fallon & Jennifer Lopez ; illustrated by Andrea Campos

- SEEN & HEARD
Jimmy Fallon Christmas Book Coming This Fall

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A KISSING HAND FOR CHESTER RACCOON

From the Kissing Hand series

by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...

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A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.

As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.

Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)