These Christian-rooted life lessons are lighthearted, age-appropriate, and toddler-friendly.
Based on verses from the Gospel of Matthew (25:34-40), various animals model kindness and generosity.
“God shows us lots of ways to help. Look around and see.” So goes the repeated text. In the pastel cartoon art, a dove gives a thirsty lamb a drink, a dog gives the dove a blanket, a hedgehog shares its snack, and a goat brings the lonely hedgehog a bouquet. One of the last pages reviews the good deeds and offers a quick prayer of gratitude. The final double-page spread, headed “Helping Your Child Take First Steps in Faith,” provides developmentally appropriate guidance for parents on encouraging helpfulness and making faith connections, along with reinforcing activities. The companion title, Clap, Sing, Dance!, faithfully follows the series formula using the same quintet of critters. Inspired by Psalm 104:33 (“I will sing to the Lord as long as I live…”), this title promotes active expressions of joy. Encouraging toddlers to do the same, the sheep makes a joyful noise, the dog does “a happy dance,” the hedgehog claps its hands, the goat stomps its feet, and the dove, despite the fact that it doesn’t have any, waves its “arms.” The offering ends with similar parental backmatter.
These Christian-rooted life lessons are lighthearted, age-appropriate, and toddler-friendly. (Board book. 18 mos.-4)Pub Date: May 30, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5064-1784-4
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Sparkhouse
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A treasure that reaches far beyond the traditional board-book audience.
This festive board book for toddlers, preschoolers, and early-elementary–age children introduces the practices of and meaning behind Ramadan, the Muslims’ month of fasting.
From the timing of the month around the crescent moon to the physical practice of fasting during daylight hours, this sturdy little book is packed with almost everything young children should know about Ramadan. Many nonfiction books about Ramadan explain the practices, but few give both facts and feelings as this book does, which is appropriate for both Muslims and non-Muslims. Eliot evokes the spirit of Ramadan, “a time to reflect on ourselves, to be thankful, and to help others.” The decorative illustrations show families diverse in skin color, hair texture, and attire as they celebrate, work, play, and pray in societies around the world. The vibrant primary colors pop against blue and orange backgrounds, and the floral patterns and the stylized representation of the natural world strengthen this volume. Only the reasons for fasting are a bit watered down for a general audience: “We fast because we know that there are many people who are less fortunate than us. We appreciate how lucky we are.” This is more a benefit of fasting than the religious reason, but it is easily understood. The book ends with the same bittersweet emotions felt at the end of Ramadan: “We will remember to love our family, pray, and give back to others all throughout the year.”
A treasure that reaches far beyond the traditional board-book audience. (Board book. 2-8)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0635-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Barnard’s brave effort to cram such an immense subject into 40 pages leads to some debatable claims. He opens with a sweeping history of Muslim expansion (“Early Muslims knew they had a lot of catching up to do to equal or surpass the great civilizations that preceded and surrounded them”) and continues generalizing throughout (“Until the twentieth century, most buildings in most cities owed much of their look to Islam”). Single-topic spreads cover the development of Arabic calligraphy and the mass production of paper, revolutions in mathematics and medicine, artistic and architectural motifs, astronomy and navigation, plus the importation of new foodstuffs, ideas (e.g., marching bands, hospitals) and technology to the West. The array of street scenes, portraits, maps, still-lifes and diagrams add visual appeal but sometimes fall into irrelevancy. Labored stylistic tics stale (the Caliph’s pigeon post was “the email of the day,” the astrolabe was “the GPS device of its day,” the translation of Classical texts was “the Human Genome Project of its day”). The author winds down with a discussion of how the dismissive attitude of Renaissance “Petrarchists” led to a general loss of appreciation for Muslim culture and scholarship, then finishes abruptly with a page of adult-level “Further Reading.” Enthusiastic, yes; judicious and well-organized, not so much. (Nonfiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: April 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-375-84072-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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