Delicately crafted, impressionistic hope.
A dedicated search for the light, even in the darkest of times, leads one character back home.
A child appears, seemingly nascent with the light, nude and frolicking. Donning a yellow rain hat, blue coat, and red galoshes (reminiscent of Paddington Bear), the industrious child sets out with a wheelbarrow full of assorted tools to chase the sun across village streets, pastures, and hills. Together with a goose and cat companions, the child tries to catch the sun’s bright rays. Dropping items as they progress, they reach the shore with only a small butterfly net just as the sun sinks below the watery horizon. Doggedly carrying on, the child briefly swims naked with the goose under the nighttime waves before they wash back to shore. A starry elephant appears with a lantern in its trunk, carrying the child back home as the sun rises. McDonnell’s minimalist text, with sentences stretched over several pages, conveys only the most general information, developing an atmospheric tale with layered meanings. One can metaphorically read an emotional journey of a sad, “dark” spot in life, emerging into “light,” happy times. Regardless, “hope” carries readers into a new dawn in the circular theme. Vast but simply designed landscapes dominate the wide pages with thick brush strokes and sweeping colors. The dark scenes are so saturated that readers may have to squint to make both them and the text out, a narratively appropriate feature. Conversely, the light scenes burst off the pages.
Delicately crafted, impressionistic hope. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-500-65195-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
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A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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