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BECOMING BLUE

Name: BECOMING BLUE
Author: Ellen Tarlow
ISBN: 978-1-66590-001-0

by Ellen Tarlow ; illustrated by Julien Chung ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 30, 2022

Cute and reassuring though lightweight.

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Blue is as blue does.

Shy Blue, a square, idolizes outgoing, brave, accomplished Red, a sphere. Blue is a square in more ways than one, while Red’s the color of a firetruck, fire itself, and, best of all, a stop sign. Fed up that Blue copies her, she demands that he “Go be Blue!” i.e., himself. Blue tries to find his essential blueness but can’t. As events unfold, however, Blue discovers marvelous, hitherto unknown talents that only someone blue can possess. In the end, Red not only acknowledges and compliments Blue’s specialness, but also adopts some qualities that make him unique. Better still, the pals discover that, when combining talents, something extraordinary happens. Being oneself is a great message to convey—as is joining forces with friends—and while this is a familiar, somewhat predictable tale, the author relays the idea mostly successfully, though the conclusion feels a little tacked-on. Capable, self-assured Red is occasionally haughty, though, admittedly, she relents by the end. Self-effacing Blue is presented as largely ineffectual and sometimes simpering. Though Blue’s heightened sense of self-worth develops late, readers will welcome it and appreciate Red’s respectful acknowledgment. The quirky digital illustrations are appealing; occasional colored typefaces and backgrounds enhance visual interest, as do the characters’ expressive faces, achieved through dots for eyes and simple lines for mouths. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Cute and reassuring though lightweight. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-66590-001-0

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
LOOKING FOR SMILE
by Ellen Tarlow ; illustrated by Lauren Stringer

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

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

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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BUDDY'S NEW BUDDY

From the Growing With Buddy series , Vol. 3

by Christina Geist ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022

Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient.

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How do you make a new friend when an old one moves away?

Buddy (from Sorry, Grown-Ups, You Can’t Go to School, 2019, etc.) is feeling lonely. His best friend just moved across town. To make matters worse, there is a field trip coming up, and Buddy needs a bus partner. His sister, Lady, has some helpful advice for making a new pal: “You just need to find something you have in common.” Buddy loves the game Robo Chargers and karate. Surely there is someone else who does, too! Unfortunately, there isn’t. However, when a new student arrives (one day later) and asks everyone to call her Sunny instead of Alison, Buddy gets excited. No one uses his given name, either; they just call him Buddy. He secretly whispers his “real, official name” to Sunny at lunch—an indication that a true friendship is being formed. The rest of the story plods merrily along, all pieces falling exactly into place (she even likes Robo Chargers!), accompanied by Bowers’ digital art, a mix of spot art and full-bleed illustrations. Friendship-building can be an emotionally charged event in a child’s life—young readers will certainly see themselves in Buddy’s plight—but, alas, there is not much storytelling magic to be found. Buddy and his family are White, Sunny and Mr. Teacher are Black, and Buddy’s other classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient. (Picture book. 4-7)