A simple yet surprisingly nuanced spiritual adventure.
A debut book presents a Christian tale for children.
The Institute for the Creation of New Essence Personalities is a place where angels experiment. They create new angels utilizing revolutionary techniques. While refining the process, they discovered that making a boy angel and a girl angel at the same time was a smart strategy. One day, a magnificent boy and girl pair is created. It turns out that new angels must attend school before they can be sent to Earth to be born as humans. But angel school can be intense. The archangel Gabriel warns his students that “you will find it is difficult to get your human body and brain to do what God would like as their design is to obey physical demands.” He explains that human bodies are “necessary vehicles for angels to evolve in awareness.” Fast-forward and that boy and girl from the institute have become humans. The boy is born into royalty as a prince. The girl is the daughter of a wealthy merchant family. The two meet at a young age, but, tragically, the girl’s days on Earth are remarkably short. Nevertheless, part of her Essence is passed on to another girl. When the prince grows up, he must find the one who received this Essence and help change the world for the better. While Polyakov’s series opener is brief, it still manages to go in some unexpected directions. The angel children, along with readers, learn not just about Christian beliefs, but also a slice of comparative religion. The kids are taught about the Buddhist Yogacara school and the idea of enlightenment. And how many Christian stories for children actually mention Enoch? Once the action moves to Earth, things get a little dull. The angels-turned-humans wind up establishing something called “the Institute for Conscious Evolution and Human Development.” This institute may be a grand force for good but it is no more inviting than it sounds. Still, the odd origins of this tale, as explained in the epilogue, make this book even more unusual than readers may have imagined at the get-go.
A simple yet surprisingly nuanced spiritual adventure.Pub Date: March 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-228-85689-4
Page Count: 98
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Fans of this popular series will find this a rewarding addition to family Easter celebrations.
Bergren and Bryant attempt to explain Easter to young children in a gentle, nonthreatening manner, with partial success.
When Little Cub questions her father about Easter, Papa Bear explains the religious significance of the holiday in various symbolic ways to his cub. He uses familiar things from their world, such as an egg and a fallen tree, to draw parallels with aspects of the Christian story. Papa Bear discusses his close relationships with Jesus and God, encouraging Little Cub to communicate with God on her own. The theme focuses on the renewal of life and the positive aspects of loving God and Jesus. Easter is presented as a celebration of eternal life, but the story skirts the issue of the crucifixion entirely. Some adults will find this an inadequate or even dishonest approach to the Easter story, but others will appreciate the calm and soothing text as a way to begin to understand a difficult subject. Bryant’s charming watercolor illustrations of the polar bear family, their cozy home and snowy forest scenes add to the overall mellow effect.
Fans of this popular series will find this a rewarding addition to family Easter celebrations. (Religion/picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-307-73072-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: WaterBrook
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
An uneven depiction of how antisemitism manifests on social media and in real life.
Jewish siblings Theo and Annie Kaplan grapple with antisemitism in their middle school and society at large.
When soccer-obsessed Theo’s favorite player makes an antisemitic statement at a press conference, the ensuing social media spiral sickens Theo. His teammates’ dismissive reactions further unsettle the eighth grader. When someone draws a swastika on Theo’s locker, he initially suppresses his feelings before eventually lashing out. Sixth grader Annie responds to the controversy by lying to the school librarian, whom she adores: She’s wracked with guilt but uses a library computer to create an illicit social media account and jump right into the fray, rebutting the bigotry she sees online. The boisterous, white-presenting Kaplan family incorporates meaningful Jewish practices into their regular lives, although the authors’ depictions evoke some Jewish tropes, like the overbearing grandmother who must be covertly managed by other family members. Theo and Annie’s university professor parents pressure their children to stand up for themselves without offering much meaningful support. Using multiple first-person perspectives—including that of new kid Gabe, who’s mourning the loss of his mother to Covid-19—the authors maintain a quick pace even as both siblings reach a point of crisis. Theo and Annie remain likable and realistic in their behavior, but the characterization unfortunately struggles to keep pace with the action, leaving some of the emotions feeling abrupt and unearned.
An uneven depiction of how antisemitism manifests on social media and in real life. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781467196215
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Arcadia Children's Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
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