A sunny tale for rainy days that encourages energy and hope.
A hurricane can’t dampen the spirits of a little girl and her vibrant neighborhood in this children’s book for young readers.
Martine, curly-haired and brown-skinned, is an optimistic girl, the kind who skips to school and enjoys every feature of her mostly African-American neighborhood. And who wouldn’t love it. The streets are lined with brightly painted and appealing businesses owned by friendly proprietors. But Hurricane Willis wrecks the town, leaving people gloomy. The irrepressible Martine has an idea that fills her with new energy: She greets each good-weather day by name—for example, “Hey, Lisa girl!”; “Bonjour, Penelope”; or “Ello, Jill!” Why? “People on TV named the rainy days ‘Willis.’ Well, I want to name the sunny days too,” she explains to one storekeeper. He spreads the word, which inspires the neighborhood to start rebuilding. Martine helps, and soon the area is brighter and happier than ever: “People in her community found new joy and strength in each other and themselves.” Byrd (King Penguin, 2017) presents a young heroine who fairly bursts with energy, optimism, and exuberance, exploding into exclamation points when Martine regains her optimism: “She wiggled into her school clothes! She brushed her teeth in a flash!” Martine’s spirit is echoed in the neighborhood’s pre- and post-hurricane abundance: Mr. Pip’s Bakery is full of yummy treats that smell delicious; the students at Ms. Shirley’s Music Studio sometimes spill outside with their instruments, making people dance in the streets; and Mr. Johnny’s Grocery Store has “peaches so big you needed to hold them with two hands.” Ku’s (Silly Face Castle, 2017, etc.) full-page illustrations beautifully convey Martine’s emotions and the neighborhood’s moods as well as its diversity. Given the book’s preference for optimism, it downplays the real difficulties—financial, emotional, and logistical—of recovery after a major hurricane. Everyone, it seems, can easily afford to rebuild; no one lost a prized possession, a family member, or even a pet; no one has nightmares, depression, or lasting stress. Children who are less resilient post-disaster could find it hard to relate to Martine’s buoyancy.
A sunny tale for rainy days that encourages energy and hope.Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9997050-0-1
Page Count: 62
Publisher: Jesse B. Creative Inc.
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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