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TUMMY TROUBLES

Name: TUMMY TROUBLES
Author: Jaime Roche
ISBN: 9781433840784

GRETCHEN GETS A GRIP ON HER FEAR OF THROWING UP

by Jaime Roche ; illustrated by Doruntina Beqiraj ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 6, 2023

Supportive.

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A small fear causes some big emotions.

Gretchen looks forward to Fridays—pizza day at school! While she’s munching on her slice, her stomach starts to make angry noises, and she throws up. Her mom thinks it’s just a stomach bug, and indeed, Gretchen wakes up the next morning feeling better. When next Friday arrives, however, Gretchen is too nervous to enter the cafeteria. Her teacher takes her to see the school counselor, Dr. Hernandez, who explains that Gretchen’s body is experiencing a “fight-or-flight response.” This can make a person feel anxious and sick, even if nothing is physically wrong. She then tells Gretchen to “get a GRIP”—“Ground, Refocus, Inflate, and Pause"—in a targeted breathing exercise. Success! Gretchen is able to eat pizza once more. An extensive readers note from a licensed psychologist provides more information on emetophobia (the fear of vomiting and seeing others vomit) and tips for assisting children experiencing anxiety. It also acknowledges that though Gretchen quickly conquers her fear, in reality, this is a process that requires consistent support. This well-paced and informative narrative may seem niche to some, but it’s useful for young readers experiencing many forms of anxiety. Straightforward illustrations depict friendly characters with large round heads but no actual vomit. Gretchen and her family are light-skinned; Dr. Hernandez is brown-skinned.

Supportive. (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: June 6, 2023

ISBN: 9781433840784

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)