by Julianna Margulies & Paul Margulies ; illustrated by Grant Shaffer ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 10, 2016
Tender, winsome, and loving.
Three young sisters are granted a magical reward for their generosity.
Every week the sisters and their father visit the children’s zoo. Dad gives them money to buy anything they want, and, on every visit, they always choose to purchase food for the animals. The balloon seller has been watching them and gives them each a balloon. He instructs them to tie the balloons to their beds before going to sleep, and something magical and wonderful will happen. That night their beds take flight, through the window, past the clouds, and up to the stars. They meet three angels and are led to a wondrous place, filled with color and sparkling light, where they sing the night away. They drift down to Earth with birds of every color easing their return and gently helping them land right back in their own home. Feathers representing each girl commemorate their journey. Julianna Margulies retells the tale as she remembers her father, Paul, telling it, employing language and tone that make even the most magical events entirely believable while maintaining a gentle, flowing pace. Shaffer’s bright, swirling illustrations enhance and enlarge the action. Those three pointy-nosed, color-coordinated little dark-haired white girls and their matching angels, balloons, and feathers are charming. There’s an innocence here that never becomes preachy or overly sweet.
Tender, winsome, and loving. (author’s introduction) (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93523-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Chloe Dominique ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
Pleasant enough but not particularly original.
Uplifting messages of positivity from the Today show anchor.
Hope springs eternal, so the saying goes. Kotb agrees, here delivering to children the cheery news that hope lives inside all of them and that whatever they might wish for can be theirs. All they need is a sunny outlook, and the possibilities for happy outcomes are virtually endless. Children’s dreams can be in-the-moment ones—like purple ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry—or more far-ranging ones, such as growing tall enough to reach that high shelf easily or for hair that’s long enough to braid. It doesn’t matter, the author reassures young readers. Your aspirations will be realized, so don’t give up on them—just keep believing in them and, most of all, in yourself. Throughout, Kotb calls hope a rainbow, a feeling, a gift, and a wish. Hope is “new friends you’ll find— / friends who are loving and funny and kind.” Hope is “practicing your heart out, letter by letter.” The book’s overarching theme is upbeat, but its bouncy rhyming text is clumsy. The child-appealing illustrations are colorful and lively, though they have a generic look. The cast of wide-eyed characters is racially diverse; some have visible disabilities.
Pleasant enough but not particularly original. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624128
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
Share your opinion of this book
More by Hoda Kotb
BOOK REVIEW
by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Suzie Mason
by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by Jane Chapman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 2024
Cheery fun that will leave series fans “egg”-static.
In his latest outing, Bear and his pals go in search of eggs.
Bear “lumbers with his friends through the Strawberry Vale.” Raven finds a nest; climbing up, “The bear finds eggs!”: a refrain that appears throughout. Instead of eating the robin’s eggs, however, Bear leaves a gift of dried berries in the nest for the “soon-to-be-chicks.” Next, the friends find 10 mallard eggs (as bright blue as the robin’s), and Bear leaves sunflower seeds. Then the wail of Mama Meadowlark, whose bright yellow undercarriage strikes a warm golden note, leads them to promise to find her lost eggs. With his friends’ assistance, Bear finds one, and they decide to paint them “so they aren’t lost again.” Another is discovered, painted, and placed in Hare’s basket. After hours of persistent searching, Bear suddenly spots the remaining two eggs “in a small patch of clover.” Before they can return these eggs, the chicks hatch and rejoin their mother. Back at his lair, Bear, with his troupe, is visited by all 17 chicks and the robin, mallard, and meadowlark moms: “And the bear finds friends!” Though this sweet spring tale centers on finding and painting eggs, it makes no overt references to Easter. The soft green and blue acrylics, predictable rhymes, and rolling rhythm make this series installment another low-key natural read-aloud.
Cheery fun that will leave series fans “egg”-static. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781665936552
Page Count: 40
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
Share your opinion of this book
More by Karma Wilson
BOOK REVIEW
by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by AG Ford
BOOK REVIEW
by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by Jane Chapman
BOOK REVIEW
by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by Jane Chapman
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.