A complex topic painted with care and told with empathy.
A boy seeks connections with his uncle, who’s experiencing homelessness.
In the first double-page spread, a boy and his mother shake a colorful quilt that, on the opposite page, transforms into water flowing by a bridge where a man sleeps. The boy calls him the “One With the Scraggly Beard.” This visual connection carries through the boy’s questions to his mother about this man, his uncle, and how he looks and lives. The boy worries one day he will be like his uncle, because of what they share in common: pockets full of treasures, a missing tooth, even a fear of the dark. His mother reassures her anxious son, saying her brother wanted one life but ended up living another because life can contain unexpected trials. Her straightforward answers acknowledge the boy’s concerns and also humanize her brother. Later, readers see them together as a family. Lush, textured illustrations depict leafy parks where the boy and his uncle stroll, and tree-lined streets near the bridge, reminding readers of the life inside each character in this story, no matter how they live that life. The family presents white, exposure rendering the uncle’s skin browner than the others. An author’s note reveals the autobiographical origin of this story. Withey’s honest tone and simple language offer educators and caregivers empathetic ways to talk with young children about homelessness. The French version is a faithful translation, using plain language that is age-appropriate and still emotionally thoughtful.
A complex topic painted with care and told with empathy. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1855-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.
In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.
Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063469730
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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