The series continues to present appealing and likable characters gently exploring the moral dilemmas of childhood.
Bernardo, Carlos’ cousin whom he hasn’t seen in years, is temporarily moving in with Carlos and his family.
As in the prior two installments of the series, this title features an elementary-age, male protagonist of color. Carlos has recently discovered his love of animals. He’s motivated to work hard in school, and he keeps pets that help him learn more about animal behavior, including his prized geckos. Carlos doesn’t know much about Bernardo, just that he has had what is vaguely defined as a “hard year.” When Bernardo arrives, Carlos isn’t sure what to think. He finds himself sharing his room, his class, his soccer team—everything—with Bernardo. He wants to make Bernardo feel welcome but grows increasingly frustrated with his cousin’s sneaky and aggressive behavior. Appropriately, given the tight focus on Carlos’ perspective, the book doesn’t focus on the details of Bernardo’s challenges but rather on the ways in which he acts out, at times behaving as a bit of a bully. Eventually the tension boils over into a confrontation, followed by a somewhat rushed resolution and a lesson about empathy. Many independent readers, particularly boys, will identify with these characters and their struggles.
The series continues to present appealing and likable characters gently exploring the moral dilemmas of childhood. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-57529-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2015
Skip it.
A timely look at self-expression.
Kindergarten-age Ben paints his fingernails because he loves their colorful appeal. Unfortunately, not everyone does. While walking to school one morning, Ben is harassed by two other boys: “Painting your nails is for girls. You’re a girl! You’re a girl!” Ben initially internalizes the negative feelings but eventually tells his parents. Although Ben’s father shows solidarity by painting his nails as well, this does not stop the bullying. Ben sadly kowtows to gender conformity and paints his nails only on the weekend, although his father continues to pick him up after school with painted nails. On Ben’s birthday, his entire class surprises him with painted nails, and at recess, they do it again. End of story! Educators and caregivers should prepare themselves for the barrage of logical questions that are sure to follow: Why didn’t Ben’s parents talk to his teacher about the bullying? What happened the next day? Did the bullies learn anything? Books about gender nonconformity are needed, as are titles that celebrate general messages of acceptance, but this story is too superficial and the ending too slapdash to be worth the attention. Gusti’s illustrations, which echo the stylings of Jules Pfeiffer, do little to enhance the text. Most characters appear white, while darker-skinned characters are reduced to background filler only. The book is also available in Spanish.
Skip it. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-84-17123-59-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: NubeOcho
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Poor execution sinks a clever concept.
Bailly’s illustrations and some unusual formatting take a seemingly ordinary outing in surprising directions in this import from France.
Thomas enjoys a vacation trip with his parents beneath a sunny blue sky to an uncrowded beach in the serigraphic-style pictures—until, becoming a bit bored, he wanders off. When the sun begins to go down he anxiously searches for his parents but finds only a book on the ground. That book, smaller in trim size and mounted on the next page, contains the same narrative, word for word…but the locale has shifted to snowy ski slopes and woods. There’s another, yet smaller, book at the end of that version with, again, the same text but a radically different setting: the moon (presumably, as the Earth is visible overhead in one view). Such tweaking of readers’ expectations is, as always, a fun game, but here the conceit works far better in the first two go-rounds than the third, as it’s hard to square the observation that “The air is so clear / The sky so blue” with all the helmeted, vacuum-suited figures strolling over the rocky moonscape, and the book at the end is not “on the ground” as described but actually floating in some sort of large tunnel. In any event, notwithstanding a false promise on the rear cover of at least a fourth iteration, all ends happily as the errant lad’s parents reappear with the next page turn (and the next, and the next) to take him home. Thomas and most of the other humans present as white, but there are a few apparent people of color in crowd scenes.
Poor execution sinks a clever concept. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4243-0
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
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