Will help children conquer their jitters while preparing to go back to school—or anytime.
First days are always hard.
Despite Mom’s reassurance that the first day of school will be fine, a child has “giant-sized butterflies.” “How am I to know how it will go on my first day?” the young narrator asks. As Mom drives the child to school, the child asks if Mom can stay with them. Mom explains that everyone worries about new beginnings—even grown-ups. The child’s parents “had giant-sized butterflies” when they welcomed the child into their lives. But those butterflies aren’t a bad thing, Mom notes. They’re here to be our guides and to help us learn and grow. Now feeling much braver and more confident, the child strides toward the school and heads inside. Escobar’s realistic digital illustrations depict swirls of butterflies, rendered in a crayonlike scrawl, following the child to the breakfast table and to the car. As the narrative continues, they become bigger and bolder until at last we see the child with a huge pair of butterfly wings. Each page is filled with rich colors and details, and we see that the other students are trailed by their own butterflies—welcome reassurance that everyone grapples with nervousness. The child and their parents are brown-skinned; their community is a diverse one. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Will help children conquer their jitters while preparing to go back to school—or anytime. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: May 30, 2023
ISBN: 9780525516439
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Treat little ones to this sweet, entertaining holiday story.
It can be a spooky thrill to go trick-or-treating for the first time.
Little Monster is excited to experience this Halloween rite of passage; the green Martian costume fits perfectly. Yet, as Little Monster and Papa venture out, the young one is leery. Scary things are all around: a pirate, witch, and ghost. On Little Monster’s street, it’s less the costumes than the wearers that look strange, given that residents are monsters themselves, albeit cute, smiling ones with big eyes. As they walk about, Little Monster begins to feel braver with Papa’s help. The pair’s final stop—a scary house with a graveyard for a front lawn—ushers in a surprise ending. This cute addition to the holiday shelf is by the creators of Go to School, Little Monster (2015) and the third in the Little Monster series. Told in rollicking rhymes, the story delivers humorous, not-too-scary chills for the youngest readers. The portrayal of a warm, patient relationship between child and father is welcome, as is the sight of a parent accompanying a child on nighttime trick-or-treating rounds, not universally presented in Halloween books. The delightful, expressive, atmospheric illustrations depict adorable, multicolored monsters—it’s definitely a diverse neighborhood. Winsome, lavender Little Monster, befanged, wide-eyed, noseless, and bearing a spearlike tail, subs for kids who anticipate and feel wary on their own first Halloween forays. Papa is blue and also has large eyes, fangs, a tail, and no nose.
Treat little ones to this sweet, entertaining holiday story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5420-9208-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite the glittering images, this story is a bit lackluster.
In singer Amerie’s picture-book debut, a biracial child goes on a magical adventure, with ancestors rooting them on.
Full-bleed spreads depict a dark-skinned infant being nurtured by a Black- and Korean-coded family and growing into an energetic youngster with light brown locs and a high fade. As the family sits down to a meal, the protagonist wanders off, their eye caught by an old photograph of a smiling, Black ancestor in overalls. When the child reaches out toward the picture, they fly through the frame and emerge in a jewel-toned forest. The woods are full of glowing, dancing Black and Asian ancestors. Accompanied by rhyming, inspirational text, the narrative winds along with the jubilant kid as they dance through the trees, chase an otherworldly white creature, ride a fiery bird (perhaps inspired by the Samjok-o from Korean mythology), and meet a person in a Korean hanbok before returning home. Younger readers may enjoy the singsong words alongside illustrator Figueroa’s colorful, dreamlike art, but overall, the narrative feels somewhat unstructured and unsatisfying. Platitudes like “You will do big things / That just might change the world. // And you will do small things / That may help one boy or girl” are too timeworn to stand out, and the youngster’s hop from one supernatural montage to the next is more dizzying than enchanting. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Despite the glittering images, this story is a bit lackluster. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81702-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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