A conversation starter for those seeking to dismantle toxic masculinity one story at a time.
Musings on manhood.
As Neil grows older, he worries about becoming a man. Observing the men around him and in the media, he notices that they are “belligerent,” “powerful,” “brave,” and “reckless”—but, most importantly, they don’t cry. After creating a poster laying out the rules of masculinity, Neil sets out to be a man. He rides his bike to school without a helmet against traffic, snubs his female friend Halima, and ends up sparring with another student. Guilty over his bad behavior, Neil finds himself sobbing in the nurse’s office, where the male nurse shares that he, too, sometimes cries. Translated from Spanish, this is an empathetic tale of one boy’s attempts to grapple with masculinity. The resolution comes a bit abruptly, and the book doesn’t explore the negative impact of Neil’s misbehavior (apart from people frowning or scowling at Neil). Nor does Neil make amends to Halima, who greets him happily all the same. Still, it’s a solid start; the focus on Neil’s uncertainties and attempts to emulate those around him will spark much-needed dialogue. Turu’s dynamic, scribbly illustrations are enticing and offer many examples of traditional masculinity for adult-guided analysis, from a stoic father at a funeral to a musician surrounded by curvaceous women. Neil has light-tan skin, Halima is brown-skinned, and the nurse is pale-skinned; the supporting cast is diverse.
A conversation starter for those seeking to dismantle toxic masculinity one story at a time. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781623546885
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As insubstantial as hot air.
A diverse cast of children first makes a fleet of hot air balloons and then takes to the sky in them.
Lifestyle maven Gaines uses this activity as a platform to celebrate diversity in learning and working styles. Some people like to work together; others prefer a solo process. Some take pains to plan extensively; others know exactly what they want and jump right in. Some apply science; others demonstrate artistic prowess. But “see how beautiful it can be when / our differences share the same sky?” Double-page spreads leading up to this moment of liftoff are laid out such that rhyming abcb quatrains typically contain one or two opposing concepts: “Some of us are teachers / and share what we know. / But all of us are learners. / Together is how we grow!” In the accompanying illustration, a bespectacled, Asian-presenting child at a blackboard lectures the other children on “balloon safety.” Gaines’ text has the ring of sincerity, but the sentiment is hardly an original one, and her verse frequently sacrifices scansion for rhyme. Sometimes it abandons both: “We may not look / or work or think the same, / but we all have an / important part to play.” Swaney’s delicate, pastel-hued illustrations do little to expand on the text, but they are pretty. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.2-by-18.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 70.7% of actual size.)
As insubstantial as hot air. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4003-1423-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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