A touching, useful way to approach a difficult issue that should find a home among families, in libraries, and in school...
A child imagines ways to make his mother’s sadness go away in this touching picture book by debut author Williams and featuring illustrations by Ark.
Mama can heal with a kiss and cure sadness, and her child sees her as being full of magic. Together, the two pretend to be superheroes or fairies or wizards. But sometimes Mama can’t smile; it’s as though a dark cloud is hovering over her, sapping her magic. The child wants to help; to do so, the youngster becomes a fairy, a wizard, a fan dancer, a superhero, an inventor, the sun, and a unicorn. But imagining only takes the child so far: “I’m only me,” the young one admits. Ultimately, a hug helps the mother, if only a little, giving the story a hopeful ending. The poetic, child-friendly text tackles hard-to-discuss ideas about mental health and depression, acknowledging that it’s not the child’s job to fix it and embracing the hope that one can help just by being oneself. Ark’s gorgeous digital illustrations are informed by her watercolor experience, and the merging of the child’s sunny magic and the mother’s dark cloud is beautiful.
A touching, useful way to approach a difficult issue that should find a home among families, in libraries, and in school counselors’ offices.Pub Date: June 26, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-77534-562-6
Page Count: 26
Publisher: All Write Here Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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