An engaging family tale with eye-catching illustrations.
In this debut picture book, a young boy fears the shadows and shapes in his dark house until his father comforts him.
When Obi’s mother forgets to turn on his night light, the house seems very dark and scary. A light inside the boy’s closet convinces him there are monsters inside. After Obi goes into the hall to call for his mother, the shadows chase him back under the covers. Thumping on the stairs makes Obi think that a giant is after him. Luckily, Daddy comes in to soothe his nerves and shows him there’s nothing to fear. Daddy also tells him: “Even though you were scared, you were super brave!” Obi goes to sleep feeling super but glad Daddy turned on his night light. A family prayer, verses of Scripture, and conversation prompts close out the end pages. In this fun tale, Okonkwo writes in simple sentences broken into paragraphs that frequently feature internal rhymes (bed, forehead, said). A few more challenging vocabulary words (mysterious, imagination) make this story appropriate for emergent readers, especially those who still get nervous in the dark. Obi’s understandable fears and growing confidence should comfort children who have had similar experiences. Veteran artist Hnatenko’s soft-edged images centering on an African American family capture Obi’s anxieties while showing how his imagination created the monsters. (One small, friendly-looking monster, which Obi has been drawing in art posted on his wall, shows up in the end pages.)
An engaging family tale with eye-catching illustrations.Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73738-230-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Okonkwo Press, LLC
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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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