An educational, rhyming picture book with a simple message of unity.
In this debut picture book, young schoolchildren learn that they can stand together against bullying.
When new student Joel is tormented on the playground by classmate Billy, the other kids take action: They find a teacher to intervene, comfort Joel, and let another teacher know what happened. Principal Joe immediately imposes consequences (a three-day suspension) and lets Billy and his mother know that bullying won’t be tolerated. When Billy returns, he’s harassed by mean, “tall, tough boys.” His classmates are scared, but they realize that “if they don’t stand together, this bullying will never end.” So they present a united front, raising their voices in a chorus of “Stop, bully, stop!” It’s an awakening for Billy, who now knows what it feels like to be picked on, and he’s grateful for his peers’ support. Lattier, a veteran public school educational diagnostician, offers kids informed advice with her age-appropriate, anti-bullying approach and an underlying message that parents, teachers, and administrators must act in tandem with students—encouraging them to sympathize, listen, and respond with prompt action. The softcover book alternates pages of clear, well-spaced, rhyming text with Scalisi’s cartoonish drawings of stiff-limbed but facially expressive and diverse children.
An educational, rhyming picture book with a simple message of unity.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4809-7376-3
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Rosedog Books
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
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
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