A heartfelt picture book that will stay with readers through the years.
In Sutton’s debut picture book, a mother advises her children on how to face various difficulties.
“Lift me higher, Mama. / No, baby girl, you don’t need my help. / But it’s hard, Mama. / Yes, but you CAN DO hard things.” This exchange sums up the premise of this story of a parent who listens to her children’s problems and offers the support they need to find their own way. The fears grow more complex as the children age, with elementary school friend disagreements, high school exams, young-adult dating, and uncertainties of expectant parenthood. On each occasion, a message is repeated in distinctive yellow text: “you CAN DO hard things.” The story ends with the poignant realization that one day children will face the loss of a parent. Sutton writes in a straightforward style, expounding on the mother’s responses in a way that suggests that the book is aimed more at parents than young children. Mueller’s full-color illustrations effectively portray characters’ emotion and back the unfolding story. A particularly beautiful snowy scene perfectly captures the notion of parents watching over their children. The main characters are depicted with pale skin, and background figures have a range of skin tones.
A heartfelt picture book that will stay with readers through the years.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781039185296
Page Count: 28
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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