Newcomer Bercaw has written an affecting story of Jennifer’s fears and joys when her Korean halmoni, or grandmother, flies from her peaceful village to take part in a school Grandparents’ Day program. Hunt’s (Jacob's Gift, not reviewed) wonderfully sensitive oils are a perfect accompaniment in soft pastels that almost appear to be seen through gauze. Halmoni has flown 14 hours of time zones to get there; in Hunt’s painting, her face and posture show her weariness as well as the joy she feels at its end. Jennifer is torn—so glad to meet her that she leans forward to rest her cheek on Halmoni’s as Dad drives them home from the airport—but fearful of her differences. Her grandmother wears a beautiful silk dress, not running shoes and athletic outfits like her friends’ grandmothers will wear to the next day’s program. Then, too, Halmoni will be asked to share a family memory, and Mom and Dad have to translate for Halmoni even to Jennifer. But Halmoni reads Jennifer’s mind, perhaps because she learned to read her father’s mind when he returned from war, as readers discover when Mom translates Halmoni’s softly chiming words to the class. Readers can see in her face that Halmoni also worries as she waits to speak—a truly expressive portrait. Halmoni captivates her audience, as she will the audience for this stellar debut. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8037-2444-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2000
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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