A heartwarming story to help children overcome their bedtime fears.
A child’s mom sets out to help him with his fear of the dark in Cobb’s illustrated children’s book.
Boo is absolutely, definitely not afraid of the dark. His covers may be over his head when his mom comes to tuck him in at bedtime, but he insists that he is brave. She catches on very quickly and decides to turn the tables on him to help him overcome his fears: “You say you are brave, and I know that it’s true. But what if I’m scared, what should I do?” she asks, cowering on Boo’s bed. When she crawls under the covers to hide with her son, he jumps out and stands in the middle of the room. When she spots a ghost rearing its ugly head by the wardrobe, Boo explains it away as his teddy bear. And when she sits up at the sight of a shadowy head, Boo shows her that it’s just his clown, Bobbles. Time after time, Mom finds something to be afraid of in Boo’s room, moving him to allay her concerns while facing his own fears at the same time. Noises don’t faze him; he quickly debunks the idea of monsters in the closet or under the bed. Once every possibility is exhausted, Mom turns out the light with a sweet declaration that brings the story around full circle. The role reversal between Boo and his mom is a simple twist that effectively models social and emotional learning. The rhyming format doesn’t particularly add to the text’s effectiveness, and the bold white letters, outlined in black, appear a bit dated, but neither of these elements takes away from the story. Potapenko’s painterly illustrations have a retro flavor. She portrays both Boo and his mom as white-skinned with red hair.
A heartwarming story to help children overcome their bedtime fears. (Picture book for ages 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2024
ISBN: 9780984948772
Page Count: 38
Publisher: 10 to 2 Children's Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 8, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
Nothing new here but a nonetheless congenial matriculant in publishing’s autumnal rite of back-to-school offerings.
The Crayons head back to class in this latest series entry.
Daywalt’s expository text lays out the basics as various Crayons wave goodbye to the beach, choose a first-day outfit, greet old friends, and make new ones. As in previous outings, the perennially droll illustrations and hand-lettered Crayon-speak drive the humor. The ever wrapperless Peach, opining, “What am I going to wear?” surveys three options: top hat and tails, a chef’s toque and apron, and a Santa suit. New friends Chunky Toddler Crayon (who’s missing a bite-sized bit of their blue point) and Husky Toddler Crayon speculate excitedly on their common last name: “I wonder if we’re related!” White Crayon, all but disappearing against the page’s copious white space, sits cross-legged reading a copy of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. And Yellow and Orange, notable for their previous existential argument about the color of the sun, find agreement in science class: Jupiter, clearly, is yellow AND orange. Everybody’s excited about art class—“Even if they make a mess. Actually…ESPECIALLY if they make a mess!” Here, a spread of crayoned doodles of butterflies, hearts, and stars is followed by one with fulsome scribbles. Fans of previous outings will spot cameos from Glow in the Dark and yellow-caped Esteban (the Crayon formerly known as Pea Green). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nothing new here but a nonetheless congenial matriculant in publishing’s autumnal rite of back-to-school offerings. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: May 16, 2023
ISBN: 9780593621110
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
