A headstrong little chameleon enjoys bucking the crowd until she learns moderation. Chamelia loves to stand out at school, while all the other chameleons happily blend in. They can’t believe her crazy clothes: Who wears a leopard-print pillbox hat to lunch, a sequined shift dress for sports and a feathered helmet on scooter rides? Chamelia’s fabulous frocks and cute obliviousness to her sometimes estranging individuality make her an endearing, original character. When self-expression causes Chamelia to let down classmates on the soccer field, in the choir and on the stage, her parents suggest that by working hard both you and your team can shine. Short sentences prompt children to look at facial expressions and illustrative details for plot development and humor. A striated collage of wild fabrics on the endpapers cues readers to look for more photographs of real fabric patterns in Chamelia’s wardrobe. This clever incorporation of actual textiles, as busy and vibrant as Chamelia herself, invigorates intentionally muted illustrations—the other chameleons are all rendered in faded pastels, while Chamelia really pops. Readers might remark that Chamelia’s immediate willingness to step out of the spotlight seems out of character, but then again, she is one unique lizard. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: May 3, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-316-08612-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A soothing, logical, and playful introduction to mindfulness for young listeners.
What can you do when things go wrong?
Two children contemplate different ways to calm themselves down in this straightforward introduction to breathing, relaxation, and mindfulness. The younger, White-presenting child follows suit when the older, brown-skinned child proposes imaginative calming techniques. They picture themselves as various animals (goldfish, elephants, dragons) and objects (pinwheels, dandelions, wind chimes, flowers), inhaling and exhaling, that make deep breathing and calming down concrete and easy to comprehend. Simplified, whimsical illustrations add a touch of humor and a wink to the 1970s while preventing the story from becoming cloying, as soft, gentle instructions help the characters (and listeners) to understand some of the mechanics behind how to intentionally breathe and decompress. While not necessarily something that children will pick up unless they are learning about practicing mindfulness, this informative title has charm and warmth and will give youngsters some ideas as to how to self-regulate and manage their feelings as they learn to be aware of their breathing. Endpapers feature a multiracial array of children’s faces expressing different emotions.
A soothing, logical, and playful introduction to mindfulness for young listeners. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77164-637-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
Like its subject: full of bustling life yet peaceful.
Life buzzes in a community garden.
Surrounded by apartment buildings, this city garden gets plenty of human attention, but the book’s stars are the plants and insects. The opening spread shows a black child in a striped shirt sitting in a top-story window; the nearby trees and garden below reveal the beginnings of greenery that signal springtime. From that high-up view, the garden looks quiet—but it’s not. “Sleepy slugs / and garden snails / leave behind their silver trails. / Frantic teams of busy ants / scramble up the stems of plants”; and “In the earth / a single seed / sits beside a millipede. / Worms and termites / dig and toil / moving through the garden soil.” Sicuro zooms in too, showing a robin taller than a half-page; later, close-ups foreground flowers, leaves, and bugs while people (children and adults, a multiracial group) are crucial but secondary, sometimes visible only as feet. Watercolor illustrations with ink and charcoal highlights create a soft, warm, horticulturally damp environment. Scale and perspective are more stylized than literal. McCanna’s superb scansion never misses, incorporating lists of insects and plants (“Lacewings, gnats, / mosquitos, spiders, / dragonflies, and water striders / live among the cattail reeds, / lily pads, and waterweeds”) with description (“Sunlight warms the morning air. / Dewdrops shimmer / here and there”). Readers see more than gardeners do, such as rabbits stealing carrots and lettuce from garden boxes.
Like its subject: full of bustling life yet peaceful. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1797-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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