A relatable, constructive story emphasizing elements of positivity and mindfulness.
Gregory’s picture book demonstrates ways kids can counteract negative thoughts.
An unnamed girl’s mom asks her to complete tasks, like making a card for her grandfather and baking muffins for school. Although the illustrations show her reticently partaking in the activities, the girl responds to her mother, “Okay, but I’m NOT very good at it.” When Mom (who is absent from the illustrations) asks why she feels that way, the child says, “Because that’s what my brain said.” Her mother implores her to listen to her heart instead, explaining “It speaks very softly, like dandelion seeds landing on grass….Your BRAIN might try to BUTT in, but don’t pay any attention to it.” The girl attempts to complete more tasks, but she tries to alter her immediate negative thoughts. For example, as she builds a model airplane, she “talks back” to her brain (“You don’t get to be the boss all the time.”) The child explains that now she listens to her heart: “It doesn’t matter if I’m NOT very good at something…the most important thing is to just try.” Miller’s colorful pencil illustrations mostly echo the text, offering interesting background scenes such as grassy fields and dandelions. Some offer subtext. For example, the child is shown smiling alongside her completed projects, as when she gives a thumbs-up while holding a tray of baked muffins. The child has dark hair and eyes and presents White. Gregory offers actionable, kid-friendly tools to help readers enhance their self-esteem in a plausible and positive way.
A relatable, constructive story emphasizing elements of positivity and mindfulness.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-5255-7645-4
Page Count: 30
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2020
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
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A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.
In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.
Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063469730
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
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