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UNNATURALLY BLUE

Name: UNNATURALLY BLUE
Author: Dorson Plourde
ISBN: 9781525311338

by Dorson Plourde ; illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 3, 2025

An oddly opaque look at coping with difficult emotions.

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A young swimmer gets the blues.

The text’s poetic voice belongs to an auburn-haired youngster with dark eyes and pale, freckled skin, surrounded by other children at the community pool. As the others splash and play, the protagonist stays off to the side under a sign that reads “NO RUNNING / NO DIVING / NO CRYING.” The youngster recalls participating in synchronized swimming—happier times. Now, though, “there just isn’t any room…to be a creature so blue.” The story takes a fantastical turn as the child dives down through a drain and into a swampy world where the youngster’s tears create a new watery environment. There, the narrator heals, transforming into a gilled, web-footed creature—a metaphor for overcoming depression? Unfortunately, the tale’s meaning is obscure, and the words and eerie illustrations alike seem aimed at an audience older than that of most picture books. When the child returns to the pool, none of the children are alarmed in the least by the protagonist’s transformation into a sea creature. In fact, they also seem to change into alligators, beavers, and turtles—or do they? While Eggenschwiler’s vividly saturated, surreal imagery is enticing, the line between fantasy and reality is blurred to the point of confusion; young readers likely won’t understand or readily engage with this work.

An oddly opaque look at coping with difficult emotions. ((Picture book. 6-9))

Pub Date: June 3, 2025

ISBN: 9781525311338

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
GARBAGE GULLS
by Dorson Plourde ; illustrated by Isabella Fassler

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)