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DÉJÀ PU

Name: DÉJÀ PU
Author: Jordan Nisbet
ISBN: 9781738172313

by Jordan Nisbet ; illustrated by Alla Belova ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 3, 2024

A light-hearted treatment of an iffy (whiffy?) subject with a relatable message for parents.

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A first-time father finds diaper-changing time has its sticky challenges in Nisbet’s picture book.

Whether adult readers are amused or somewhat repulsed by the subject of this debut children’s book may depend on their experience level with the unpredictable consequences of a very young infant’s active digestive system…particularly at changing time, as the dad in the story discovers. “It happened again,” he says, “I got déjà pu, / where the diaper stopped some but / the rest got through.” (The book’s title means “a feeling of having already experienced the poopy situation.”) The illustration for Dad’s rhyming complaint depicts an adorable, big-eyed, diapered baby with pale skin and auburn hair gazing up happily from the brown-stained changing table surrounded by brown-stained wipes. The frank theme continues throughout the short picture book as the author presents various scenarios of mistimed, explosive diaper changes in a read-aloud cadence sure to give very young audiences the giggles. The full-page digital illustrations by Belova emphasize the humor in the situation (particularly the parents’ expressions), contrasting more earthy details with simple, cozy interior decor against varied backgrounds of bright colors and sophisticated patterning. Nisbet’s overriding intention is clear: a message of unconditional parental love, no matter how many times diaper changes go awry.

A light-hearted treatment of an iffy (whiffy?) subject with a relatable message for parents.

Pub Date: April 3, 2024

ISBN: 9781738172313

Page Count: 30

Publisher: Art Lab International

Review Posted Online: March 11, 2024

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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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)

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

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FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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A BIKE LIKE SERGIO'S

by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Noah Z. Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2016

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...

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Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.

This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)