A quiet book that will help readers experience and reflect on the rich sensations of life.
Simple suggestions to enjoy the little, sweeter things in life.
In a series of uncomplicated observations and questions, Tate reminds readers that each day is full of amazing experiences. Some are wonderfully sensory in nature, like when you stroke the “soft spot / behind a cat’s ear,” “when a ladybug / lands on your arm,” and “when you get a hug / from someone / you haven’t seen / in a very long time.” Some experiences are more personal, such as “finally getting something / you’ve been practicing”—like landing a tricky skateboard jump for the first time—or “the feeling you get // when you do something / you really like // and you forget / about everything else.” In the accompanying multipage sequence of illustrations for this last one, a brown-skinned child artist paints butterflies that imaginatively lift off the canvas and become real. Other observations will help readers look more carefully to find “a turtle / eating a salad” or shift their perception to recognize “a fire truck / getting a bath” or realize that “you never quite know // what color the sunset might be / at the end of the day.” The final observation will elicit “aws,” a fittingly tender moment for a soothing bedtime read. Almost childlike in their execution, the illustrations are colorful but calm and highlight active kids with a variety of skin tones and hairstyles and colors. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A quiet book that will help readers experience and reflect on the rich sensations of life. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Dec. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-311413-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Sure to have little ones giggling.
Jacques is a hedgehog with a big secret: “I wear real, bona fide underwear.”
Our narrator received a mysterious package one day; an illustration shows a pair of underwear tied to a balloon with a note “from the Universe” floating down into Jacques’ burrow. Hedgehogs don’t wear underwear, however. Will Jacques be shunned? Jacques worries but comes to a decision: “I have to wear them. When I do I feel special.” Determined, Jacques, who’s been invited to a party, makes a dramatic entrance, with undies in hand. Jacques’ declaration (“I WEAR UNDERWEAR”) is met with remarks of dismay, before another hedgehog opens up about similar fears and shows off a pair of cowboy boots. More hedgehogs introduce themselves with their own confessions. The story ends with Jacques unveiling a painting of the underwear in a gallery filled with hedgehogs wearing all sorts of attire. Though the book is simple in plot, characters, and setting, it wins in its balance of bathroom humor, dramatic storytelling, and celebrations of individual expression. French words are peppered throughout, adding to the fun without detracting from the story for those unfamiliar with the language. The cartoonish illustrations brim with fun; Valdez relies heavily on geometric shapes (triangle noses for the hedgehogs; huge circles for their eyes). Details such as speech bubbles and recurring turtle and snake characters contribute to the outlandish humor.
Sure to have little ones giggling. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781250814388
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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