Powerfully demonstrates how small but monumental events can connect and change the world.
On an ordinary day, extraordinary events occur as Arnold’s parallel stories of loss and life show how the world’s shared experiences connect humanity.
In the neighborhood, all seems as it should—a garden is being watered, kids are at play, and a crow caws; then two visitors arrive. The black veterinarian, upon entering one home, attends to a dog at the end of her life. An Asian midwife or obstetrician, upon entering the house next door, helps a woman through labor. Commonalities abound between the two households despite their different compositions and experiences. In both, love and family are fully present as one life expires and a new one is born. Skilled, muted drawings, in charcoal, pencil, and watercolor and digitally rendered, depict a diverse neighborhood with mixed-race and nontraditional families. Emotions are clearly conveyed by the appealing characters, who are rendered in a simplified graphic style. The intimate interior events are juxtaposed with the unaware community members outside, who continue the rhythm of their ordinary day, until in one silent dark beat of the crow’s wings, the world shifts. “It was an ordinary day in the neighborhood. / It was an extraordinary day in the neighborhood. / Like all days, and all neighborhoods, everywhere.”
Powerfully demonstrates how small but monumental events can connect and change the world. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7262-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This series continues to charm.
Now a seasoned first grader, Ava Lin returns to deliver new laughs and misadventures.
Six-and-a-half-year-old Ava is good at many things: making lists, coming up with new games, and treating her classmates respectfully. She has a new opportunity to show off this last skill; her teacher has found a way to reward kindness in the classroom. Each time someone is nice to a peer, they receive a ticket in their bucket. At week’s end, the student with the most tickets gets to select a prize. Ava is determined to win, especially once she spots a narwhal-shaped eraser in the bin; narwhals are her very favorite! At first, being extra kind is easy. Ava is polite on the playground, compliments her friends, and shares her treasures. Soon, however, her fixation on victory makes her irritable, and her ticket-collecting efforts stall. When her best friend, Kushi, offers to help with her plan to win over their classmates, Ava is relieved. The tickets come pouring in for Ava, but Kushi’s hurt that Ava takes full credit. Will Kushi forgive her? Ava’s world is full of silly humor and big feelings that will land with young readers navigating complex priorities of their own. Though occasionally exasperated with her antics, the adults in Ava’s life are supportive of her imaginative, unconventional problem-solving skills. Ava and her family are of Chinese descent, while Kushi is brown-skinned; their class is diverse.
This series continues to charm. (Chapter book. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781536229707
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
Don’t wait to hand this book to a child: Any story that strengthens kids’ confidence is a winner.
Don’t wait, don’t hesitate!
The time is now for taking a bow, advises this affirmational book that encourages readers to seize the moment and cheerfully sets the stage for helping kids boost their self-esteem. The story follows a group of aspiring young performers behind the scenes and then onstage at a talent show. Motivated by a sign announcing “The Talent Show Needs You,” gifted would-be stars are “waiting to prove” they’re “ready for action.” At the outset, the narrative makes clear that the “star” is YOU, the reader/listener, who’s “brimming with skills.” It’s only natural that confidence may flag and worries will set in occasionally, but, Campbell assures readers, everything the children have done before has prepared them to shine, and they’re all “learning and growing…and [getting] much stronger too!” Plus, what if the hotly anticipated moment’s even better than imagined? Some of this rah-rah cheerleading may go over children’s heads, but the essential message about doing/trying one’s best to achieve a goal and subsequently feeling a burst of self-confidence rings true. The cheery illustrations featuring smiling, racially diverse characters, rendered in pencil, pastels, crayons, and markers and enhanced digitally, add to the bright, upbeat tone.
Don’t wait to hand this book to a child: Any story that strengthens kids’ confidence is a winner. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780316214247
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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