bookshelf

WHY DO I HAVE TO EAT MY GREENS?

Name: WHY DO I HAVE TO EAT MY GREENS?
Author: Emma Waddington
ISBN: 978-1-84780-865-3

BIG ISSUES FOR LITTLE PEOPLE ABOUT HEALTH AND WELL BEING

From the Life and Soul Library series

by Emma Waddington & Christopher McCurry ; illustrated by Louis Thomas ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2016

Simplistic at best, misleading at worst, and addressed mostly to grown-ups, notwithstanding the picture-book format.

bookshelf

Two clinical child psychologists reinterpret a dozen childhood minirebellions as requests for information on topics from bathing and bedwetting to the titular veggies.

Taking a utilitarian tone from the outset, this discussion guide opens with general instructions for adult book-sharers (“Step 3: Direct the child’s attention to the illustration…”), then goes on to present 12 common domestic scenarios. Each of these features a large cartoon illustration, a short written narrative, three leading discussion questions (“How do you think Ibrahim feels about brushing his teeth?”), and further advice to parents. None of the common queries here are on the level of “Where did I come from?” but some, such as “Why can’t I wet the bed?” or “Why can’t I have some of your wine?” will likely require actions or responses that are beyond the scope of this cut-and-dried format (“Because I said so!” is not an offered option). The five children are racially diverse, but Yuki’s and her mom’s exaggeratedly slanted eyes and yellow skin come dangerously close to stereotype. For the already uninformed query “Why do I have to wear sunscreen when it’s sunny?” light-skinned Angus on the beach turns a particularly alarming shade of red.

Simplistic at best, misleading at worst, and addressed mostly to grown-ups, notwithstanding the picture-book format. (select print and web resources) (Informational picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: July 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-84780-865-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Frances Lincoln

Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

bookshelf

LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2015

Safe to creep on by.

bookshelf

Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.

In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.

Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?
edited by Eric Carle

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BUG?
edited by Eric Carle

- BOOK REVIEW
MY FIRST I SEE YOU
by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle

bookshelf

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...

bookshelf

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)