A vivid tale of intercultural friendship and understanding.
Author and illustrator Morrill offers a picture book about a friendship between two girls—one of whom lives in a World War II-era internment camp in Arkansas.
Sachi, a youngster of Japanese heritage, and Jubie, a Black girl, are best friends. Sachi and her family live at the Rohwer Relocation Center. One afternoon, the girls’ cloud watching turns into an opportunity for Sachi to teach Jubie about her heritage. One of the clouds, for instance, looks like a kimono to Sachi, and she runs off to find one for her friend to try on. Jubie appreciates the care and tradition associated with the garment, and she learns about an upcoming celebration of Obon featuring traditional Japanese dances. As Sachi describes the dance and hums the music, they each envision their hands as butterflies; a kind of magic takes over as Jubie dances. Afterward, though, the girls come back to the stark reality of the relocation camp. Morrill’s book is based on a scene from her novel for adults, The Red Kimono (2013). Here, the author’s illustrations effectively transport readers to the story’s setting, thanks to mixed-media art featuring watercolor characters and scenery, superimposed onto historical photographs. The story includes elements of story and heritage, but endnotes skillfully expand upon it with additional information for adults and older children.
A vivid tale of intercultural friendship and understanding.Pub Date: April 24, 2025
ISBN: 9781966675068
Page Count: 31
Publisher: Solander Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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