An affecting children’s book that accessibly addresses an uncomfortable issue for both children and adults.
A comfortably homespun children’s tale about caterpillars.
The story begins by introducing readers to a school for young caterpillars located near Lake George in the Adirondacks of upstate New York. On the first day of school in 1963, two caterpillars named Jan and Craig come there to teach music and history, respectively. They fall in love, get married and move to Canterbury, N.H., where they have four baby caterpillars named Amy, Jennifer, John and Sarah. The family lives on the Good Earth Farm, where Jan grows food, appreciates music, and teaches them all to love one another and every other caterpillar. When Jan gets sick, she visits her doctor who tells her that she’s changing and won’t be a caterpillar for much longer. She’s shocked and confused, and doesn’t understand why she can’t always be a caterpillar. The doctor also doesn’t know why, but offers the wisdom that “nothing that is living stays the same forever.” However, this doesn’t stop every caterpillar in the family, and their friends and acquaintances, from feeling very sad. Soon Jan finds that she can’t get out of bed, which scares everyone, as it means that she will soon cease to be a caterpillar. But when the time comes, something wondrous occurs: She stops being sick and blossoms into an entity more beautiful than a caterpillar—a butterfly with wings to carry her to a land filled with flowers and sunshine. All the caterpillars are upset that they can’t go with her, as they are still wingless creatures with dull coloring. But, one day, they feel the breeze from her wings when she flies invisibly above them. She speaks to them of pure love and tells them not to be sad, as she will wait for them to join her. The author and illustrator—a former public school teacher and his 8-year-old granddaughter, respectively—touchingly address the loss of a beloved spouse and grandmother in their debut book. The book’s strong specificity in its use of children’s names, dates and actual locations, and its drawings from its young illustrator, encompass the reader in a unique world. Ten percent of the book’s proceeds will support hospice centers, according to the book’s cover, which shows that its heart beats even louder than its heartfelt words.
An affecting children’s book that accessibly addresses an uncomfortable issue for both children and adults.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-1484179291
Page Count: 26
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
Wonderful, indeed
A love song to baby with delightful illustrations to boot.
Sweet but not saccharine and singsong but not forced, Martin’s text is one that will invite rereadings as it affirms parental wishes for children while admirably keeping child readers at its heart. The lines that read “This is the first time / There’s ever been you, / So I wonder what wonderful things / You will do” capture the essence of the picture book and are accompanied by a diverse group of babies and toddlers clad in downright adorable outfits. Other spreads include older kids, too, and pictures expand on the open text to visually interpret the myriad possibilities and hopes for the depicted children. For example, a spread reading “Will you learn how to fly / To find the best view?” shows a bespectacled, school-aged girl on a swing soaring through an empty white background. This is just one spread in which Martin’s fearless embrace of the white of the page serves her well. Throughout the book, she maintains a keen balance of layout choices, and surprising details—zebras on the wallpaper behind a father cradling his child, a rock-’n’-roll band of mice paralleling the children’s own band called “The Missing Teeth”—add visual interest and gentle humor. An ideal title for the baby-shower gift bag and for any nursery bookshelf or lap-sit storytime.
Wonderful, indeed . (Picture book. 1-4)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-37671-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
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