Parents may well hope that their children don’t pick up Hazel’s beat—but they probably will.
A little composer gets her whole family moving and grooving to her “bop-able” beat, but it's not easy.
Tiny Hazel Nut loves to sing and dance...and she also loves her polka-dot pants. She is literally a hazelnut, with a big round body and little legs and a little puff of hair on either side of her head. Hazel writes a song celebrating her pants one rainy day, then sets out to get her family to sing and dance along with her. Hard as she tries, she can't get Papa (an acorn) to give up his book or Mama (a chestnut) to drop the laundry or brother Wally (a walnut) to abandon his carnival garb to rock out with her. So Hazel calls her Grandma Nut (not readily identifiable), who almost immediately bursts through the door and disco-dances across the floor, also wearing polka-dot pants. When Mama, Papa, and Wally hear the "happy hullabaloo," they can't resist singing and dancing too. It's "Saturday Nut Fever," complete with disco ball and lit-up dance floor. Readers are encouraged to visit TheNutFamily.com to download free songs for singing and dancing. Litwin's jaunty rhyming text has an infectious simplicity, though it's low on content and quickly grows repetitive. Magoon's Adobe Photoshop illustrations are a riot of bright colors and skittish shapes, relying on energy to compensate for occasionally unclear delineation of setting.
Parents may well hope that their children don’t pick up Hazel’s beat—but they probably will. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-316-32250-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Warmly buoyant.
A Black family of four enjoys a day at the pool.
Readers may recognize two of the family members from Bolling and Juanita’s Together We Ride (2022), which centered on a father teaching his young daughter to ride a bike. This latest takes a similar tack, as the mother now helps her young son learn to swim. The child is uncertain, but with her encouragement, he dips a toe into the water and picks up the fundamentals: lifting his head above the water, floating, pumping his arms and legs. There are snafus along the way—the child initially sinks, but Mom is right there. Finally the boy strikes out to swim, “On my own, / in the zone.” The whole family is reassuring, cheering the child on. Big sister does the backstroke and a handstand, displaying the confidence the little one is still learning. Brief but upbeat rhyming verses will especially appeal to beginning readers. Juanita’s carefully composed, muted line illustrations shine in the details, from swim bonnets on Mom and big sister to a mermaid tattoo on Dad’s side. Touching moments in the art pair well with the text. Black family pride and joy abound—this is a family that allows its little ones the space to make forays into independence while supporting them every step of the way. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Warmly buoyant. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2023
ISBN: 9781797212494
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
A quiet book about making a giant leap.
Lottie knows something no one else knows. Her mother and brother don’t know. Her swimming instructor does not know, and the other children in swim class certainly don’t know.
There is a shark that lives in the pool. It wants to eat Lottie—only Lottie—and Lottie is not going to let it get anywhere near her. Most children have had moments when they’ve sat on the sidelines watching others laugh and play because they were too scared to just dive in, and that is precisely where Lottie finds herself. Lucky for her, Walter shows up just in time. He sings, they read books, play in bubbles, and even share the same favorite food. But when it comes time for Lottie to face her fears, can Walter truly help? Walter, as readers and Lottie see but her family may not, is an enormous walrus. Walker’s soft and appropriately watery illustrations complement and extend her whimsical text, lending a dreamlike feel to the story. Readers will discern the shadowy, predatory shape of the shark below the surface of the water even as Lottie’s classmates splash and play, and they will sympathize, and they will giggle at the depictions of Walter’s huge bulk in Lottie’s tidy urban home while believing that Walter will protect her. Lottie, her mother, and her brother have light-brown skin and black hair.
A quiet book about making a giant leap. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-47038-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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