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LITTLE SLEEPYHEAD

In the crowded field of bedtime books, this is a very sweet nighttime send-off for the littlest yawners.

After a full day, the very young appreciate a hushed yet lively bedtime book to prepare for the evening ritual.

Lilting rhymes and charming, soft-edged illustrations in muted tones depict a variety of happy multiethnic and intergenerational families in this gentle ode to sleepyheads everywhere. Adorable, rosy-cheeked crawlers and new walkers of both genders are shown having a jolly, busy and very tiring day with an array of significant others, including loving pets; each body part has become totally exhausted by the day’s many activities. The warm text is easy enough for parents, older siblings, grandparents and other caregivers to memorize and dramatize; indeed, the text practically demands it. Try holding still while reading “Tired little arms, stretching up so high, // Tired little hands, waving bye, bye, bye.” Acting out these lines and, additionally, “Tired little toes, wiggling one to ten,” for example, will promote language development and prove great fun for babies and young toddlers to mimic. While the line “Tired little tummy, full of yum, yum, yum” sounds a tad twee, tiny listeners will love it and understand completely.

In the crowded field of bedtime books, this is a very sweet nighttime send-off for the littlest yawners. (Picture book. 9 mos.-2)

Pub Date: April 14, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-399-16240-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!

John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

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

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

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