This one can be skipped.
An Indian American girl is initially reluctant when her parents announce it’s time to wear a bindi to school.
While Varadarajan’s author’s note states that many Hindu women and girls do not strictly follow the tradition of wearing the bindi—the red mark worn between the brows—there is no such flexibility in Divya’s house. Both Divya’s parents think it’s time Divya starts wearing a bindi, with her father adding that she’ll look “so beautiful.” But Divya fears that her classmates Sam, Sally, and Sania will make fun of her. Despite her palpable anxiety, Amma tells her that “the time has come,” and Divya chooses a bindi to wear to school. Her fears that her classmates will mock her don’t come to pass, and she comes to love the bindi and even gives a speech to her class about why. The book feels less like a story of a girl learning to embrace her culture and more a heavy-handed exhortation to do so—a startling choice given the increase in Hindu nationalism in both India and the Indian Hindu diaspora. Amma, who wears the bindi even while sleeping, insists that wearing a bindi is “what Hindu girls do.” Though the illustrations are appealing, Divya’s internal monologue about why she loves wearing the bindi is preachy, and the author’s note feels judgmental toward Indian Americans who prefer not to embrace certain traditions. Divya’s classmates are racially diverse; Sam is brown-skinned, Sally is light-skinned, and Sania is, like Divya, Indian American. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This one can be skipped. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-59881-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.
In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.
Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781250393975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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