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ADDY'S CUP OF SUGAR

Name: ADDY'S CUP OF SUGAR
Author: Jon J Muth
ISBN: 978-0-439-63428-1

BASED ON THE BUDDHIST STORY OF "THE MUSTARD SEED"

From the Stillwater series

by Jon J Muth ; illustrated by Jon J Muth ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 20, 2020

A master class of picture-book storytelling.

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Based on a Buddhist tale, this modern adaptation tells a story of loss and acceptance.

Addy, a young White girl, has a kitten she’s named Trumpet for his “tooting” meow, and when she’s with him “the world [is] brighter and warmer.” But shortly after moving to a new neighborhood, Trumpet is hit by a car. Muth doesn’t mince words here, and that’s refreshing. But Addy is very sad and bewildered, and she goes to see the wise panda Stillwater, her friend, for help. Stillwater tells her he will make some medicine for her, but first he needs her to go around to the neighbors and get a cup of sugar—but the sugar can only come from a house that hasn’t experienced any death. With simple, direct storytelling, Muth reveals the immanence within everyday life, a theme underscored by the perfect watercolor illustrations. Both juxtaposing warm and cool palettes and using highlights and shadows—rather than line—to define people and objects, he creates images that fairly shimmer with atmosphere and show the strength of the watercolor medium in an expert’s hands. Nuanced images of Trumpet-shaped clouds and figures on the Earth underscore the immortality of memories, which Addy comes to eventually realize. This gracefully told story will comfort readers who have experienced death with its healthy truth while the gorgeous illustrations will uplift them. Secondary human characters are diverse.

A master class of picture-book storytelling. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-10)

Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-439-63428-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS FICTION

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STILLWATER AND KOO SAVE THE WORLD
by Jon J Muth ; illustrated by Jon J Muth

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THE SEVENTH VOYAGE
by Stanislaw Lem ; illustrated by Jon J Muth ; translated by Michael Kandel

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MAMA LION WINS THE RACE
by Jon J Muth ; illustrated by Jon J Muth

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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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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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)