A cute-as-a-button reminder that growth comes in sequential ages and stages, this should be of special use in households...
Developmental milestones modeled by charmingly photographed babies may reassure new parents, and toddlers will see themselves in the pictures.
Each spread shows two winsome babies of the same age, capturing them milestone by milestone. They are almost always smiling, though the 1-year-olds just beginning to stand on their own look slightly panicked. (Curiously, they also look older than the 15-month-old toddlers on the next spread who are walking with help.) Exclamatory text in a large clear type on the upper-left page describes a behavior while the typical age for each skill is highlighted in a quarter circle on the lower-right-hand corner. The editors seem to have picked the upper end of the age range for each milestone. Standing is labeled at 12 months and walking is at 15 months though babies can actually reach these markers up to three months earlier, a simplification that is understandable given the format. These babies’ behaviors include drawing and eating with a spoon as well as gross motor skills. The editors wisely chose children of a variety of skin tones and ethnicities, with a just about even distribution of white-presenting babies and babies of color.
A cute-as-a-button reminder that growth comes in sequential ages and stages, this should be of special use in households with new baby siblings. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4867-1462-9
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Flowerpot Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A retro yet timeless story of family and identity.
Martín brings his successful Mexikid Stories online comic series to print.
Living in California’s Central Coast as a first-generation Mexican American, Pedro (or the “American-style” Peter) struggles to find his place. As an American kid growing up in the 1970s, he loves Star Wars and Happy Days but dislikes the way his five oldest siblings, who were born in Mexico, make him feel less Mexican just because he and the three other younger siblings were born after his parents immigrated to the U.S. to work picking strawberries. A family trip to Jalisco to bring their abuelito back to California to live with them presents Pedro with an opportunity to get in touch with his roots and learn more about the places his family calls home. Told from Pedro’s perspective, the panels read as a stream-of-consciousness travelogue as he regales readers with his adventures from the road. Along the way, Pedro has fresh encounters with Mexican culture and experiences some unexpected side quests. Full of humor, heart, and a decent amount of gross-out moments, Martín’s coming-of-age memoir hits all the right notes. Though the family’s travels took place decades ago, the struggles with establishing identity, especially as a child of immigrants whose identity straddles two cultures, feel as current as ever. The vibrant, action-packed panels offer plentiful details for readers to pore over, from scenes of crowded family chaos to the sights of Mexico.
A retro yet timeless story of family and identity. (family photos, author’s note) (Graphic memoir. 9-14)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9780593462287
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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