A nice-enough entry in the Growing Hearts series.
A little girl learns the value of giving and receiving gifts.
In a lift-the-flap book that begins with an unspecified holiday, the unnamed little girl is encouraged by her parents and grandparents to see beyond the gifts that come in shiny packages to gifts of the heart. First she shares her brand-new suitcase with her little sister, Lili, at her father’s insistence. She discovers that sharing can involve baking a cake for their parents, giving the gift of knowledge to Lili about something learned in school, and making friendship bracelets that comes with the gift of help from her best friend. Along the way are somewhat syrupy lessons: “Her kind words are a gift / I can treasure in my heart”; “Bits of love are better / than bits of cherry, / especially on toast.” Even with the didactic tone of the story, the crayon illustrations on large pages will appeal to children. Several of the flaps have multiple folds, ensuring a surprise on nearly every spread. The square, sturdy, easy-to-turn pages have lots of white space, and the illustrations are of happy children (with paper-white skin) and familiar objects of childhood.
A nice-enough entry in the Growing Hearts series. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3320-8
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
If Black Lives Matter, they deserve more specificity than this.
A lushly illustrated picture book with a troubling message.
Little Lala walks with her father after his successful day of fishing. When Mama calls her home for bed, a host of “good night”s delays her: to the bird, the monkey, and even the rock. As Lala wanders through her village in the darkening twilight, readers appreciate its expansive beauty and Lala’s simple joys. Although it’s been artfully written and richly illustrated by an award-winning author of many multicultural stories, this book has problems that overshadow its beauty. “African veld” sets the story in southern Africa, but its vague locale encourages Americans to think that distinctions among African countries don’t matter. Lala wears braids or locks that stick straight up, recalling the 19th-century pickaninny, and her inconsistent skin color ranges from deep ebony like her father’s to light brown. Shadows may cause some of these differences, but if it weren’t for her identifiable hair, readers might wonder if the same child wanders from page to page. Perhaps most striking of all is Lala’s bedtime story: not an African tale but an American classic. While this might evoke nostalgia in some readers, it also suggests that southern Africa has no comparably great bedtime books for Lala, perhaps in part because American children’s literature dominates the world market.
If Black Lives Matter, they deserve more specificity than this. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-17384-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
Like marshmallow on top of caramel.
Little Bear loves everything about Christmas, but there’s one thing he loves even more.
The Bear household is busily getting ready for Christmas. Mommy Bear wraps and bakes; Daddy Bear brings home a humongous tree; Little Bear exults in it all. With each new Christmas tradition that’s introduced, from opening Christmas cards to receiving carolers, Little Bear sings a song that celebrates it. “I love ornaments, and garland, and lights on a string, / candy canes, stockings—and all of the things / that make Christmas perfect—oh, yes, I do! / But the thing that I love more than Christmas is—” But before Little Bear can complete his rhyme, each time he is interrupted by a new element of Christmas to celebrate. Since that terminal rhyme is always set up with one that ends with an “oo” sound, readers will not be surprised in the least when Mommy and Daddy interrupt him one last time with an emphatic “YOU!” It’s all so uber-idealized readers may find themselves gagging on the syrup—it even seems to get at Hattie: Daddy Bear’s smug “What an exceedingly talented family we are” has a whiff of irony to it. Warnes’ cartoon bears inhabit a cozy, middle-class home; while the carolers are clothed, the Bear family is not, but readers may notice a white marking on Mommy Bear’s chest where a string of pearls might rest.
Like marshmallow on top of caramel. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68010-208-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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