Thought-provoking, heartbreaking, and moving.
A wordless tale that speaks loudly of American inequality.
At the end of the school day, a mother picks up her son from school. Parent and child, both of whom present Black, hug before stopping for a meal at a fast-food restaurant. At dusk, the pair walk to the local library, where the boy does his homework and the mother reads a novel—notably, it’s Lesa Cline-Ransome’s Finding Langston (2018), the story of another Black child who knows hardship, written by the author’s wife. At closing time, the librarian comes to turn out the lights. After exiting the library, parent and child walk to a park, where they talk, and the youngster plays in the fall leaves. In the dark, the two settle down on a bench with the city lights and skyline as backdrop. While the child sleeps, his head resting in his mother’s lap, she remains vigilant throughout the night. When the sun rises, she gets the boy ready for school, combing his hair and looking on as he brushes his teeth at a water fountain. Ransome’s gorgeous, richly hued watercolors convey the love between mother and child, balancing the difficulties they face with moments of true joy. In an author’s note, he asks, “In a country of vast resources, what is our responsibility to those without access to the basic necessities?” Readers of this empathetic tale will come away resolved to work toward a world in which all people’s needs are met.
Thought-provoking, heartbreaking, and moving. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9780593324882
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
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
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
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)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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