Slight and silly—but not too boring.
A young tot is just plain bored in this Italian import.
Poor Ben. His favorite color is light gray. His favorite sport is sitting. Lackluster and dull are just fine for him. His parents try everything to generate some excitement in him—advice from doctors, silly clowns with crazy antics—but nothing seems to help. Even his appearance matches his personality: sullen and a bit droopy. One day, Ben declares he is the “Supreme King of Boredom.” After all, he’s quite good at it. But then he decides that every king needs a throne, so he makes one out of cardboard. And of course, what good is a throne if there is not a castle? He busily constructs that, too. Once he adds the royal court—including a queen—he just may not be his usual boring self anymore! In an intriguing twist, Guarducci doesn’t take the obvious route by depicting other humans as playmates; instead, Ben’s friends are stuffed animals. Even the queen, in a wedding ceremony of exchanged bored vows, is a toy. Ben uses the same items that were visible during his most boring of days and switches his outlook. His growing imagination “almost” gives him a fairy-tale ending. But…it’s still good to be bored every once in a while. Heavy-lidded Ben presents white, as do his parents and many of the other characters who briefly interact with him.
Slight and silly—but not too boring. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7643-5974-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Schiffer
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their...
Ruby is an adventurous and happy child until the day she discovers a Worry.
Ruby barely sees the Worry—depicted as a blob of yellow with a frowny unibrow—at first, but as it hovers, the more she notices it and the larger it grows. The longer Ruby is affected by this Worry, the fewer colors appear on the page. Though she tries not to pay attention to the Worry, which no one else can see, ignoring it prevents her from enjoying the things that she once loved. Her constant anxiety about the Worry causes the bright yellow blob to crowd Ruby’s everyday life, which by this point is nearly all washes of gray and white. But at the playground, Ruby sees a boy sitting on a bench with a growing sky-blue Worry of his own. When she invites the boy to talk, his Worry begins to shrink—and when Ruby talks about her own Worry, it also grows smaller. By the book’s conclusion, Ruby learns to control her Worry by talking about what worries her, a priceless lesson for any child—or adult—conveyed in a beautifully child-friendly manner. Ruby presents black, with hair in cornrows and two big afro-puff pigtails, while the boy has pale skin and spiky black hair.
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their feelings (. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0237-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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