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A CRAZY-MUCH LOVE

Name: A CRAZY-MUCH LOVE
Author: Joy Jordan-Lake
ISBN: 978-1-5420-4326-7

by Joy Jordan-Lake ; illustrated by Sonia Sánchez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 17, 2019

An honest and encouraging story about a transracial adoption.

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A child learns how she was adopted and how much she is loved in this story told from the point of view of her adoptive parents.

From the beginning of the story, readers see how much the parents already love their child, who is not even in their arms. From anxiously deciding on the right color to paint the child’s room and filling it with stuffed bears to “count[ing] the hours” until they can get on a plane and fly across oceans to meet her, these adoptive parents make it clear how they feel about their child. Once home, the child discovers her first bath, her first word, and her first day of school, all with “crazy-much love” from her parents. The baby changes as she grows, but nothing about that love does. Boldfaced type and capitalized words throughout the book emphasize the emotions of joy and love. Sánchez uses energetic lines and bold splashes of color to effectively mirror how the parents feel about their child. Multicolored circles filling the pages like so much buoyant confetti visually symbolizes the love between parents and child. This baby’s father is white, the mother has olive skin and black hair, and the child is Asian; the illustrations feature a supporting cast of extended family, friends, and neighbors of a wide variety of races and ethnicities.

An honest and encouraging story about a transracial adoption. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-5420-4326-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Two Lions

Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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GOLDIE'S GUIDE TO GRANDCHILDING

by Clint McElroy ; illustrated by Eliza Kinkz ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2022

Intended as an amusing parody, this groans with outdated irrelevance and immaturity.

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While spending the day with Grandpa, young Goldie offers tips on the care and keeping of grandparents.

Though “loyal and loving,” Goldie’s grandfather proves to be quite a character. At Grandparents Day at school, his loud greeting and incessant flatulence are embarrassing, but Goldie is confident that he—and all grandparents—can be handled with the “right care and treatment.” The young narrator notes that playtime should involve the imagination rather than technology—“and NO video games. It’s just too much for them.” Goldie observes that grandparents “live on a diet of all the things your parents tell them are bad for them” but finds that Grandpa’s favorite fast-food restaurant does make for a great meal out. The narrator advises that it’s important for grandparents to get plenty of exercise; Grandpa’s favorite moves include “the Bump, the Hustle, and the Funky Chicken.” The first-person instruction and the artwork—drawn in a childlike scrawl—portray this grandfather in a funny, though unflattering, stereotypical light as he pulls quarters from Goldie’s ears, burps on command, and invites Goldie to pull his finger. Goldie’s grandfather seems out of touch with today’s more tech-savvy and health-oriented older people who are eager to participate with their grandchildren in contemporary activities. Though some grandparent readers may chuckle, kids may wonder how this mirrors their own relationships. Goldie and Grandpa are light-skinned; Goldie’s classmates are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Intended as an amusing parody, this groans with outdated irrelevance and immaturity. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: March 29, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-250-24932-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: First Second

Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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GRANDFATHER COUNTS

by Andrea Cheng & illustrated by Ange Zhang ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2000

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Cheng’s story of a Chinese-speaking grandfather who comes to live with his daughter’s English-speaking family ably communicates the difficulties of the language barrier, and the unanticipated joys that come from working your way through that barrier. Helen is ambivalent about the arrival of her grandfather, Gong Gong, from China. She wants to know her grandfather, but she has had to surrender her room and her cherished view of the train tracks to him. Worst of all, he doesn’t understand what she says, and as she doesn’t understand him, he withdraws. Her mother says to give him some space and time. One day while Helen is sitting on the back wall, Gong Gong joins her, and together they count the train cars as the freight rumbles past. Contact. Helen learns the first eight numbers in Chinese and Gong Gong learns them in English. From there it is a short leap to Helen’s Chinese name and its Chinese characters, and then the letters used to spell Helen. That every journey starts with a first step is a commonplace conceit, but here the notion fits so snugly the point practically sings, and it feels like an adventurous beginning at that. Lushly colored artwork from Zhang is both elegant and captures the moods of tentativeness, surprise, and satisfaction. (Picture book. 4-6)