A lovely and needed story of familia in which love conquers loss.
Family love in the face of loss is poignantly shared by de Anda and Harris.
Luis, Mama, Papi, their dog, Sancho, and beloved Abuelo are one tight familia. When Luis gets home from school he spends the afternoons with Abuelo building models, learning to paint, and sharing stories alongside tasty snacks. As time passes, things begin to change. When Abuelo can no longer remember how to fit the models together, he and Luis can still paint side by side. When he forgets to turn off the stove, quesadillas transform into tasty PB&Js instead. But when Abuelo goes missing one day, it is clear things are changing quickly and will never be the same. What afflicts Abuelo is never explicitly identified as the story unfolds, tenderly told in simple first person from Luis’ innocent and loving perspective as he slowly confronts new symptoms of his grandfather’s progressive dementia. His mother gives Luis sage advice that even though Abuelo’s memory is slipping he will always feel Luis’ love. Though this is certainly a sweet sentiment, many dementia patients experience apathy and changes in personality along with their memory loss, so the truth of Mama’s words is somewhat in doubt. This is nevertheless a touching and well-told story of the heartbreak of memory loss through the lens of family-oriented Latino culture.
A lovely and needed story of familia in which love conquers loss. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1492-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
Honest, loving, and powerful.
Ehlert and Tu offer a primer on body neutrality.
In simple, straightforward text, readers are reminded that “Your body is your body. It doesn’t look like anyone else’s. It doesn’t feel like anyone else’s.” Depicting characters who are diverse in terms of race, age, size, ability, and preference, different pages focus on the myriad ways bodies can exist in the world. “Some move in different ways, / some see in different ways,” among them an older dark-skinned person with a cane and a guide dog, a younger Asian-appearing person stimming with headphones on, and another younger dark-skinned person using a fidget toy. The text “Some just got here, / some have been here a long time” is accompanied by a touching image of an elder cradling an infant, both brown-skinned. The illustrations include enough kinds of people, all shown as friendly, rounded, and smiling, that nearly all readers will be able to point at someone and say, “That’s like me!” The plain language belies the profound message that some will be able to pull out; an afterword more fully defines body neutrality, or the idea that readers need not love their bodies but that we should all respect and accept them. “Allow yourself to just feel meh” and “Think of your body as a house” are especially important messages to instill in people just learning how to conceptualize their physical selves. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Honest, loving, and powerful. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2023
ISBN: 9781250854445
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
An engaging reminder that it’s up to all of us to care for Earth.
Making the world better, one small step at a time.
In jaunty verse, six diverse families present 30 simple, practical, and economical ways to make the world a nicer, greener place to live. These fun ideas can be put into practice immediately and can be carried out by even the smallest family members. Young children can plant seeds together, then water the growing plants—activities that support wildlife, including butterflies, bugs, and bees. Siblings can bathe together to save water. Children can donate “pre-loved” clothes, books, and toys to others, while adults are encouraged to mend broken toys, fix broken taps to save water, shop with reusable bags, buy food from local vendors, and use public transport or ride bikes. Naturally, Preston-Gannon mentions recycling (e.g., cartons and bottle caps) straight off—which is a helpful lead-in to a discussion of how wonderful it is for eco-conscious families to visit the library, that marvelous place where people can return old books, borrow new ones, listen to storytime, and take part in arts-and-crafts activities using recycled objects. This bouncy U.K. import includes softly rounded digital illustrations, with characters who reflect a broad, realistic spectrum of skin tones and family structures. The word family in the book’s title also suggests that all of us, as our planet’s inhabitants and stewards, are responsible for its well-being.
An engaging reminder that it’s up to all of us to care for Earth. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781223188065
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Paw Prints Publishing/Baker & Taylor
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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