A creative, if wordy, tale about mindfulness focused on personal triumph and well-being.
In this picture book, a young girl sails stormy seas in a metaphorical search for mindfulness.
Blond, pigtailed Lilibet is a White superhero who has not yet discovered her powers—which she hopes to find on a journey with friends Capt. Hippo and Benjamin the rabbit. Watercolors emphasize a rainbow-bright fantasy atmosphere, and Nasi’s compositions of waves and light create visual interest. First stop: Pon-Kan Kan Island. Lilibet intends to extract a superpower from the place but finds only glowing mushrooms. Stops at a series of islands where Lilibet continues to seek superpowers follow. “Stop hiding! And please…be REALLY SPARKLY and REALLY BIG!” Lilibet shouts to her imagined power. When Capt. Hippo points out the sun, sparkling like a fantasy power, she appreciates the sight: “Lilibet was mindful at last!” But when the sun disappears, she panics, and her anger summons a storm that endangers her ship. Capt. Hippo tells her: “You cannot stop the waves of Anger, Sadness, Joy or even Hunger, but you can decide what to do with them.” When Lilibet learns to take a deep breath and count to five, she discovers she’s a superhero, with choices to make about her anger. Stuker’s whimsical (if long-winded) story and Nasi’s bright illustrations will draw readers in to a consideration of emotional regulation as a superpower, though the impact of Lilibet’s actions on others is not examined. Capt. Hippo and Benjamin exist only to further her journey and hold no grudges.
A creative, if wordy, tale about mindfulness focused on personal triumph and well-being.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9788269306637
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Through Mindful Lens
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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