A spot-on look at sibling rivalry that will speak to multiples and singletons alike
New-big-sister dilemmas—times two.
Readers of The Twins’ Blanket (2011) will recognize the two adorable, identical twin girls in their polka-dot dresses (and of course, their striped blanket in the background). The twins have two of nearly everything, but they have only one mom, and this is a big problem. As they fight over whom mom will look at during nap time or whom she’ll push first on the swings, their mother’s bulging belly reveals an even bigger problem: a little sibling on the way. When the baby, who “looks like the bread in a paper bag,” arrives home, there’s suddenly not enough room for the twins on the grown-up bed or anyone to push them on the swings. But when the girls notice the attention they receive for helping with the new baby, their ever present competitiveness turns toward fighting over who’s the better big sister. Always reconciled eventually, the twins decide that the baby is kind of cute and that they don’t mind sharing their mom with her. As the competition to care for the baby continues, maybe their only problem now is that they need another baby sister! Ample white space allows the expressive, patterned artwork, created from prints, colored pencil, watercolor and other media, to show the twins’ range of emotions.
A spot-on look at sibling rivalry that will speak to multiples and singletons alike . (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37973-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
A digressive plot gets in the way of this celebration of female relationships.
Neela loves cooking with her mother in their big, warm kitchen, where her grandmother’s portrait hangs on the wall.
On Saturday, Neela and Amma go to the green market to buy the vegetable Neela loves cooking best: tomatoes! Together, Neela and Amma make a sauce using a recipe passed down from Paati. As they cook, Neela and her mother dance to the music Amma’s bangles make when she chops vegetables and grates carrots. Amma tells Neela about how tomatoes came from Mesoamerica, where they were cultivated by the ancient Aztecs, and how Europeans initially feared they were poisonous. Now, Amma says, they’re used in cooking all over the world—including India, where Paati’s recipe comes from. As they finish the sauce and can it for the winter, Amma tells Neela about the tomato harvest and about the benefits of eating and cooking vegetables and fruits while they are in season. As they finish preserving the sauce, Neela saves a jar for Paati, who will visit in the winter. Martinez-Neal’s warmly textured, beautifully detailed illustrations are the perfect celebration of intergenerational love. Similarly, the gentle text has some lovely emotional moments. However, Lakshmi includes so much information in the narrative that it meanders, which may cause readers to lose hold of its core. Recipes for sauce and chutney, additional tomato facts, a note about farm workers, and a personal note close the book.
A digressive plot gets in the way of this celebration of female relationships. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-20270-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Expect series fans to give three beeps for joy.
Look out, look out, construction site. There’s a new kid in town.
The latest entry in the Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site series sees the five core construction vehicles working as hard as ever. When a peppy skid steer is delivered on-site, she’s not quite like the others. Small, energetic, and ready to learn, the little loader is pooh-poohed by our heroes. However, when an accident occurs and traps the excavator and the bulldozer, guess who’s quick and able to change to meet every new situation? Using wit and grit (literally), the newest member of the team is able to figure out how to save the two machines, obliterating every obstacle in her path. Child fans of the series may appreciate the combination of construction tools with a good old-fashioned rescue attempt. Their caregivers may appreciate the presence of a heroic vehicle that is identified as female. While Rinker’s text occasionally strains the tensile strength of her rhyme schemes (“With a scoop on her front end, / she gives a turn, a twist, a bend”), Ford’s stylings blend seamlessly with previous illustrator Tom Lichtenheld’s creations.
Expect series fans to give three beeps for joy. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5582-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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