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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.

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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

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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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)