by Hannah Barnaby ; illustrated by Mike Yamada ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 9, 2017
The humor feels accidental here, with illustrations that fail to establish a consistent visual subtext.
Another wannabe bad guy.
“I am a bad guy,” announces an adorable little kid with Asian features as he strokes a white cat. Few young readers will pick up this James Bond reference, a slip that’s emblematic of the uneasy relationship between the book’s text and its illustrations, which can’t seem to decide whether to be literal or metaphorical. “On Monday I trapped all the superheroes in a giant cage with a bunch of hungry lions.” Strangely, the three lions are outside the cage, an upended laundry basket. Tuesday he is a pirate who ties his sister to a tree, and Wednesday he becomes a giant and “swallow[s] some astronauts whole.” In neither pirate nor astronaut image does there seem to be a relationship between an imagined world and the real one. Thursday he runs the sheriff (sister Alice again) out of town while astride what looks like a rocking horse. “On Friday, I ate Alice’s brain”—a winner of an image, with a plate of spaghetti and meatballs on poor Alice’s head and a truly evil-looking brother shoveling handfuls into his mouth. Saturday they go to the library. The “bad guy” finds books on applied badness, while Alice takes out Eat, Prey, Love—another reference to fly over the audience’s heads. Later, the “bad guy” gets hoist with his own petard in a feminist ending that does little to help the book cohere.
The humor feels accidental here, with illustrations that fail to establish a consistent visual subtext. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 9, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6010-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
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by Phil Rosenthal & Lily Rosenthal ; illustrated by Luke Flowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024
Amusing but misleading on the nutritional and behavioral fronts.
With one taste of despised mustard, a child pivots from rejecting new foods to seeking them.
Dad takes Lil to a food truck festival. Lil, who narrates the story, is nervous; this child’s list of acceptable foods is short (pizza, rice, grilled cheese, french fries, and vanilla ice cream). Dad loves varied tastes and repeatedly reminds Lil of his rule: “Just try it!” With a “YECCCH!” or an “EWWWWWW!” Lil refuses a bagel loaded with toppings, linguini with clams, Peking duck, pizza with spinach and garlic, and a pretzel covered with Lil’s most hated of foods: mustard. Frustrated, Lil accidentally knocks the pretzel onto Dad’s shirt. Lil apologizes, takes a lick of mustard…and instantly learns to appreciate every rejected offering. Lil then uses the title mantra to pressure Dad onto a nausea-inducing roller-coaster ride. Bright, cartoon-style illustrations emphasize the pair's upbeat mood. Food neophobia, or an aversion to eating anything novel, has complex psychosocial roots. But in this blithe little fable, the child’s resistance is completely overcome with a single accidental exposure, and the formerly picky eater immediately becomes a novelty seeker. The turnaround here is implausible; if this book creates any expectations of a sudden dramatic change in a child’s behavior, that would be a disservice. Both Dad and Lil are light-skinned.
Amusing but misleading on the nutritional and behavioral fronts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781665942638
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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by Kevin Jonas & Danielle Jonas ; illustrated by Courtney Dawson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2022
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
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by Kevin Jonas & Danielle Jonas ; illustrated by Courtney Dawson
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