Michael’s mommy gently introduces him to his new baby brother, first as a “bump” in her tummy, later at the hospital, where he and the baby “exchange” presents, and finally at home, where Michael helps with bathing and introduces his new brother to friends and extended family. The condescending text and improbable dialogue (“I thought you might like to give Daniel the present you chose to welcome him into the world,” says Michael’s dad) are unlikely to appeal to young readers. Flat, bright illustrations are set on extensive white space. Cartoon-like, they emphasize eyes and smiles, showing happy family scenes but adding little to the story. Other titles published this year in the Helping Hands series include Ashley Learns About Strangers (ISBN: 978-1-4027-7393-8), Matthew and the Bullies (ISBN: 978-1-4027-7391-4) and Emily’s First Day at School (ISBN: 978-1-4027-7392-1). (Eight more have appeared in Great Britain.) Designed for parents and children to read together, each title includes “Ten Helpful Hints,” well-meant but unremarkable advice from a British child psychologist as backmatter. The series is a reminder that celebrity does not necessarily provide the training ground for successful writing for children. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4027-7390-7
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
A straightforward, effective approach to helping children cope with one of life’s commonplace yet emotionally fraught...
A child struggles with the worry and anxiety that come with an unexpected problem.
In a wonderful balance of text and pictures, the team responsible for What Do You Do With an Idea (2014) returns with another book inspiring children to feel good about themselves. A child frets about a problem that won’t go away: “I wished it would just disappear. I tried everything I could to hide from it. I even found ways to disguise myself. But it still found me.” The spare, direct narrative is accompanied by soft gray illustrations in pencil and watercolor. The sepia-toned figure of the child is set apart from the background and surrounded by lots of white space, visually isolating the problem, which is depicted as a purple storm cloud looming overhead. Color is added bit by bit as the storm cloud grows and its color becomes more saturated. With a backpack and umbrella, the child tries to escape the problem while the storm swirls, awash with compass points scattered across the pages. The pages brighten into splashes of yellow as the child decides to tackle the problem head-on and finds that it holds promise for unlooked-for opportunity.
A straightforward, effective approach to helping children cope with one of life’s commonplace yet emotionally fraught situations, this belongs on the shelf alongside Molly Bang’s Sophie books. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-943-20000-9
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
A thoughtful role model for aspiring inventors.
In this collaboration from mother/daughter duo Corrigan and Corrigan Lichty, a youngster longs to quit the soccer team so she can continue dreaming up more inventions.
Marianne, a snazzily dressed young maker with tan skin, polka-dot glasses, and reddish-brown hair in two buns, feels out of place on the pitch. Her soccer-loving dad signed her up for the team, but she’d much rather be home tinkering and creating. One day she feigns illness to get out of practice (relying on a trick she learned from the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and uses her newfound time to create a flying machine made from bath towels, umbrellas, cans, and more. Eventually, her dad catches wind of her deception, and she tells him she prefers inventing to playing soccer. Immediately supportive, he plops a pot on his head and becomes Marianne’s tinkering apprentice. Told in lilting rhymes, the story resolves its conflicts rather speedily (Marianne confesses to hating soccer in one swift line). Though the text is wordy at times, it’s quite jaunty, and adults (and retro-loving kids) will chuckle at the ’80s references, from the Ferris Bueller and Dirty Dancing movie posters in Marianne’s room to the name of her dog, Patrick Swayze. True to Marianne’s creative nature, Sweetland surrounds her with lots of clutter and scraps, as well as plenty of bits and bobs. One never knows where inspiration will strike next.
A thoughtful role model for aspiring inventors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593206096
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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