ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS AND WILL BE SO MUCH MORE

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ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS AND WILL BE SO MUCH MORE

Name: ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS AND WILL BE SO MUCH MORE
Author: Johanna Schaible
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2213-5

by Johanna Schaible ; illustrated by Johanna Schaible ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 7, 2021

Ambitious and thought-provoking.

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This Swedish import asks children to ponder time on a mammoth and ever shifting scale.

The book’s first half, with sweeping, panoramic vistas, peers backward, beginning with “billions of years ago” when the planet was formed. In the next spread, readers see dinosaurs millions of years back, then humans migrating “hundreds of thousands of years ago.” The book continues shifting forward in huge increments of time until it arrives at “a year ago,” when it starts shifting forward by a month, a week, a day, an hour, and a minute—zooming in on a particular house and family—until it reaches the present moment, in which readers see a shooting star and text that reads “Now! Make a wish!” With each page turn, the border of clean white space around the illustrations grows in size, thereby shrinking the view. The book’s second half looks back out and direct questions at readers in a second-person voice: “Where will you be in the afternoon?” The borders shrink and the illustrations increase in size as readers are asked to ponder their futures, from tomorrow to next month to next year and so on. Here, questions asked of readers are inviting and as grand in scale as the vistas they’re paired with: “What will you look back on when you’re old?” and “What do you wish for the future?” Humans are often depicted at a distance from readers but appear to represent a mixture of races. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Ambitious and thought-provoking. (Picture book. 5-10)

Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5362-2213-5

Page Count: 56

Publisher: Candlewick Studio

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!

John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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NOTHING EVER HAPPENS ON A GRAY DAY

by Grant Snider ; illustrated by Grant Snider ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2023

Quietly contemplative and thoroughly lovely.

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A child finds adventure and a change of perspective on a dreary day.

Clouds cover everything in a palette of unending gray, creating a sense of ennui and gloom. A child stands alone, head down, feeling as gray as the day, and decides to ride through town on an old bike. Pops of color throughout the grayscale illustrations go unnoticed—there are yellow leaves scattered about, and the parking lot is filled with bright yellow buses, but this child, who has skin the grayish white of the page, sees only the empty playground, creaky swings, a sad merry-go-round, and lonely seesaws. But look—there’s a narrow winding path just beyond the fence, something to explore. There are things to be noticed, leaves to be crunched, and discoveries to be made. Imagination takes over, along with senses of wonderment and calm, as the child watches a large blue bird fly over the area. The ride home is quite different, joyful and filled with color previously ignored, reaffirming the change in the rider’s outlook. The descriptive, spare text filled with imagery and onomatopoeia is well aligned with well-rendered art highlighting all the colors that brighten the not-so-gray day and allowing readers to see what the protagonist struggles to understand, that “anything can happen…on a gray day.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Quietly contemplative and thoroughly lovely. (Picture book. 5-9)