An effective boost of self-confidence for little ones.
It’s more than luck that wins the day.
Layla the ladybug considers herself to be very lucky, as most ladybugs are known to be. She has a lucky object for every occasion—she gives credit to her lucky pencil for her excellent spelling grades and to her lucky watering can for her super-tall flowers. So, with the “Great Garden Cake Bake” coming up, Layla knows just what to do. She relies on her lucky cup and lucky spoon to measure and stir the ingredients, baking it all “for three hours (Layla’s lucky number).” The result is a burned mess. Maybe she’s not so lucky after all. Forlorn, she follows a delicious smell to her friends’ lovely baked creations. They remind her that studying earned her good grades, and daily care made her flowers grow. “Your achievements come from you!” her friends proclaim. Layla forgoes her lucky charms and, with some guidance, makes a delicious cake. Key words that support the book’s lesson appear repeatedly in bold within the modest text, making the moral clear. Minimal art gets its job done effectively. Predominant visual symmetry throughout (the characters almost always face forward) makes for easy sight recognition for young readers. The large-eyed insects composed of simple shapes appear friendly, especially with the cheerful, bright colors of the garden.
An effective boost of self-confidence for little ones. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4338-3238-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
The runaway cookie in this Mexican bakery is a soft, brown, stubby-tailed piglet as impertinently bold and smug in his continual escape as his Gingerbread Boy cousin. “Chase me! Chase me down the street. But this is one piggy you won’t get to eat! / ¡Córrele, córrele! ¡Y Córrele más! ¡Soy el cochinito que jamás comerás!” This bouncy dual refrain extends the familiar cumulative text, rendered in both English and Spanish, as piggy manages to elude Marta the baker, Lorenzo the mechanic, Mamá Nita the beautician, Joaquín the telephone repairman and a host of other neighborhood adults—until he is outsmarted by Rosa, a little girl on her way to school, who foxily “helps him” cross the street. Safely tucked into her backpack, piggy is both a welcome surprise and an excuse for Rosa’s lateness to class. Deep opaque acrylic paintings of a colorful barrio and its residents in pursuit add the right amount of cultural flavor to this vivid Latino retelling. Recipe appended. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55885-586-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2010
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