Goodhearted but less than engaging.
A boy's spirits are lifted by a visit from his guncle.
Henry doesn’t really fit in at school. The other kids think he’s weird. Luckily, his beloved guncle (presumably short for “gay uncle,” though the word gay is never used in the text) is here and is ready to help Henry learn to be himself. The “fabulous” guncle wears colorful clothes and a neckerchief, drives a yellow convertible, and has a French bulldog named Jimmy Chew. Bucking stereotypes, he is also a devout Christian and a football fan. The guncle is a fairy godmother–esque figure who appears, nameless, to whisk Henry off on a series of brief adventures—eating waffles, listening to show tunes, visiting the library and the zoo—and to impart an important lesson about self-acceptance before vanishing again. The friendly illustrations capture the guncle’s personality and depict a racially diverse community setting, with occasional fun background moments from the guncle’s dog and Henry’s cat and baby sibling. The message to love and be true to yourself is evergreen, and the story may appeal to children, whether gay or not, who don’t fit in. The meter of the text is clunky at times, however, and it feels repetitive by the end. The plot has no significant rise and fall, suspense, or exciting page turns to hold young readers’ attention. Henry, the guncle, and their family present white.
Goodhearted but less than engaging. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 14, 2024
ISBN: 9780762485611
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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