Will leave little ones reassured that the world is a magical place if they truly believe it is.
When you search for magic, you may find it.
“To Manolo, the world was a magical place.” The brown-skinned boy’s journal is flush with unicorn drawings, but what he longs to see is an “actual” unicorn. Others aren’t charmed by Manolo’s dreams. The “Wild Animal Parade” is an eagerly anticipated school event where students dress up as the creature of their choice, but Manolo’s announcement that he’ll be a unicorn is met with derision and a stinging rebuke: “Boys don’t like unicorns.” Suddenly Manolo’s world isn’t magical; dejected, he starts to believe that “Maybe unicorns aren’t real.” But then…a unicorn magically materializes, and Manolo goes for a ride, returning home with a prized souvenir from its tail: “a shimmery strand as light as air and as strong as iron.” Next morning, Manolo hurriedly prepares his splendid costume, complete with magical strand. After he tells his diverse classmates about unicorns, they urge him to lead them in a search for one. Manolo stands just a bit taller. This sweet story conveys an empowering message about being true to oneself and one’s dreams. The language is often poetic, airy, and lush, though the ending is rushed. The bright illustrations, from which rays of light seem to emanate often, are delicate and suit a tale about a magical creature. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Will leave little ones reassured that the world is a magical place if they truly believe it is. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781951836528
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Cameron Kids
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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
Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient.
How do you make a new friend when an old one moves away?
Buddy (from Sorry, Grown-Ups, You Can’t Go to School, 2019, etc.) is feeling lonely. His best friend just moved across town. To make matters worse, there is a field trip coming up, and Buddy needs a bus partner. His sister, Lady, has some helpful advice for making a new pal: “You just need to find something you have in common.” Buddy loves the game Robo Chargers and karate. Surely there is someone else who does, too! Unfortunately, there isn’t. However, when a new student arrives (one day later) and asks everyone to call her Sunny instead of Alison, Buddy gets excited. No one uses his given name, either; they just call him Buddy. He secretly whispers his “real, official name” to Sunny at lunch—an indication that a true friendship is being formed. The rest of the story plods merrily along, all pieces falling exactly into place (she even likes Robo Chargers!), accompanied by Bowers’ digital art, a mix of spot art and full-bleed illustrations. Friendship-building can be an emotionally charged event in a child’s life—young readers will certainly see themselves in Buddy’s plight—but, alas, there is not much storytelling magic to be found. Buddy and his family are White, Sunny and Mr. Teacher are Black, and Buddy’s other classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-30709-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
