An imperfect read-aloud that celebrates the spectrum of a child’s experiences.
We all have our good days and bad days.
Two children, one cued as a girl and the other as a boy, navigate the ups and downs of everyday emotions. “Some days are chocolate pudding pie days. / Kites up in the sky days. / Jumping super high days.” Each double-page spread is narrated in similar rhyming triplets and is brightly illustrated with cartoon stylings that are dedicated to celebrating simple joys. There are a few extraordinary experiences—“Some days are picking out a pup days,” in which the children are at an adoption center, literally dog-piled by adorable puppies—that cause the rhyme to spread out over multiple spreads. The primary focus, however, is on emotions commonly experienced at school, home, and other public places. More importantly, it acknowledges that “Some days are feeling kind of mad days,” in which the girl scribbles angrily with crayons, and “Feeling all alone days,” which shows the girl sadly curled up in bed with her bunny. Unfortunately, “Sorry to be bad days” supports the notion that a child (rather than a deed) can be “bad.” The title concludes with “Learning to be me days,” signaling that these emotions are ongoing and natural. The girl has pale skin and long black hair in pigtails, while the boy has brown skin and tightly curled black hair. Whether they are neighborhood friends or siblings in a multiracial family is unclear.
An imperfect read-aloud that celebrates the spectrum of a child’s experiences. (Picture books. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2620-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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