Simultaneously supports social-emotional growth and celebrates collaborative creativity.
Will a drama queen’s artistic ambition overshadow her ideals?
The play performed by the kids in Maya’s neighborhood is going to be perfect. Maya is absolutely certain of this because she’s directing every aspect to realize her grand vision of a drama celebrating freedom, equality, and respect. When the other kids won’t do exactly what the imperious Maya says, however, she at last realizes that a better world starts with her actions as well as her words. With each friend contributing equal amounts of creativity, confetti rains down on the triumphant, jubilant troupe. As with the first two Mile End Kids Stories—Colette’s Lost Pet (2017) and Albert’s Quiet Quest (2019)—graphic-novel and picture-book elements blend, with speech bubbles capturing the entirety of the dialogue-driven text. As the kids explore and define their shared goals of freedom, equality, and respect, Arsenault brings readers along on her social-emotional learning journey through expertly paced visual and textual storytelling. The whimsical illustrations employ a combination of charcoal lines and textured smudges accented in orange and fuchsia. These two vibrant colors confer importance and highlight emotion, adding a layer of complexity to the expressive characters. Maya is depicted with black hair and dark skin; of the six remaining children, four present White and two as kids of color. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-14-inch double-page spreads viewed at 83.7% of actual size.)
Simultaneously supports social-emotional growth and celebrates collaborative creativity. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6760-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 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
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