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 sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
© 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.
