A nurturing, affirmative, happy tale.
An optimistic little girl’s in for a surprise when she enters a flower contest.
Discovering “hundreds and hundreds of bright, yellow blooms” growing behind Gram’s house, Lucy decides to enter a clump of them in the upcoming Flower Festival, hoping to win a blue ribbon for her grandmother. After transferring blooms into a flowerpot, Lucy returns to Gram, who’s whistling a song. Next morning, Lucy notices her thirsty blooms drooping and whistles as she waters them. That night, Gram tells Lucy a story about daisies, and the following day, when Lucy finds her blooms “curled and crisp” from too much sun, she repeats Gram’s story while shifting them into shade. On the day of the festival, Lucy finds her blooms shriveled from cold, and she revives them with sun, water, whistling, stories, dancing, and love. She enters her blooms in the contest only to learn they’re disqualified as a “bunch of weeds.” Lucy’s disappointed, but her blooms remain winners in her eyes. Using flat patterns, textures, and bright colors, the illustrations reveal Lucy as a dark-haired, wide-eyed, freckled, tan-skinned, smiling girl whose energetic, upbeat personality radiates off the page whether she’s dancing in fields of dandelions, nurturing her pot of dandelions, sharing sunsets and stories with silver-haired Gram (who presents White), or celebrating the shimmering beauty of dandelions going to seed. Close-ups of Lucy reinforce the pervasive theme of love.
A nurturing, affirmative, happy tale. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5132-6719-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: West Margin Press
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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
A thoughtful role model for aspiring inventors.
In this collaboration from mother/daughter duo Corrigan and Corrigan Lichty, a youngster longs to quit the soccer team so she can continue dreaming up more inventions.
Marianne, a snazzily dressed young maker with tan skin, polka-dot glasses, and reddish-brown hair in two buns, feels out of place on the pitch. Her soccer-loving dad signed her up for the team, but she’d much rather be home tinkering and creating. One day she feigns illness to get out of practice (relying on a trick she learned from the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and uses her newfound time to create a flying machine made from bath towels, umbrellas, cans, and more. Eventually, her dad catches wind of her deception, and she tells him she prefers inventing to playing soccer. Immediately supportive, he plops a pot on his head and becomes Marianne’s tinkering apprentice. Told in lilting rhymes, the story resolves its conflicts rather speedily (Marianne confesses to hating soccer in one swift line). Though the text is wordy at times, it’s quite jaunty, and adults (and retro-loving kids) will chuckle at the ’80s references, from the Ferris Bueller and Dirty Dancing movie posters in Marianne’s room to the name of her dog, Patrick Swayze. True to Marianne’s creative nature, Sweetland surrounds her with lots of clutter and scraps, as well as plenty of bits and bobs. One never knows where inspiration will strike next.
A thoughtful role model for aspiring inventors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593206096
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 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.
