A heartfelt, reassuring picture book that will help children develop inner resources and psychological strength.
A young girl finds courage, comfort, and peace within.
An unnamed young girl with light-brown skin, cued as Latinx, tells readers about the various people in her life and the activities she enjoys doing with them. Sometimes she spends cozy hours at home with her single mom and their dog, Rumba; goes on camping trips with other kids; and splashes around in rain puddles with her White-presenting friend, Mateo. When she needs help, there are neighbors she can count on, and if she feels sad, “a hug from Grandma makes everything better.” But sometimes, when she’s away from home or there is no one around, she has to rely on herself: “I become my own home, where I feel calm.” “I can be my own company and make my own magic,” the girl shares, and “I can love myself and become whatever I need.” Children will learn that they can give themselves a hug if no one is available to do so and create their own light, if need be. Perdomo’s simple but powerful narrative explores the balance between self-reliance and dependency and conveys the equal importance of self-care and allowing others to care for us. The colorful digital illustrations, endearingly rendered in a naïve art style, show the girl spending her alone time contentedly doing the things she loves, like dancing to samba music and putting on a magic show for her toys.
A heartfelt, reassuring picture book that will help children develop inner resources and psychological strength. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: April 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1804-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
Simple words and big concepts will make this a godsend to parents at their wit's end.
This book seeks to use the power of persuasion to vanquish that most formidable of opponents: toddlers.
In this entry in the Big Kid Power series, a little black girl makes no bones about the fact that pacifiers (or “binkies”) are strictly baby territory. When she was little she needed one, but that was then. Whether she’s tired, sad, or hungry, there are other ways of being comforted: hugs and polite requests, for instance. After she gives her binky to a baby and bids it a very clear goodbye, the book ends with a triumphant, “I’M A BIG KID!” Using a striking color combination of orange, brown, and black, van Lieshout keeps her pages bold and bright, complementing the simple vocabulary. Such declarations as, “Do I still have a binky? // NO, BIG KIDS DON’T NEED A BINKY. / NOPE!” leave scant wiggle room for argument. In her author’s note at the end, van Lieshout says that after speaking to many parents about how they helped their kids bid their pacifiers adieu, “many of them had in common…a ritual of some sort.” The ritual here seems to be giving the pacifier away, though it may be missed by many readers. Companion title I Use the Potty uses a similar approach, with a proud, white boy as its guide.
Simple words and big concepts will make this a godsend to parents at their wit's end. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4521-3536-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Leave this on the shelf and take the kids outside to really move.
An interactive board book promises a variety of experiences.
A book that gets kids up and moving sounds like a great idea. The half-circle cutout of the spine and large handle formed by another die cut on the right side are intriguing. Unfortunately, the rhyming instructions for using the book as an exercise prop are confusing. Even adults will find themselves puzzled when told to “paddle the floor,” or to “hang on the handles. Step over the book. / You're a turtle in its shell! Go peek out and look.” The busy pictures shift perspective according to each scenario presented but give few visual clues. For example, the only hint of a dinosaur on the page where readers are told to “put this book to your mouth and let out a roar” like a dinosaur are the teeth that line the edges of what is meant to be a gaping maw. It’s not always obvious whether the book is meant to be facing readers or turned away from them, adding another layer of confusion. Furthermore, many of the instructions run counter to how young children are typically taught to treat books, as when they are told to step on it and then waddle or to lift it with their feet. The relatively thin board pages and weak handles will soon be torn by normal handling; following the directions in the text will only hasten the destruction.
Leave this on the shelf and take the kids outside to really move. (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-8733-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
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