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THE CIRCLES IN THE SKY

Name: THE CIRCLES IN THE SKY
Author: Karl James Mountford
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2498-6

by Karl James Mountford ; illustrated by Karl James Mountford ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 27, 2022

Speaking to heart and eye in equal measures, a beautiful treatise on remembering life and helping those left behind.

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The twin desires to mourn and to comfort imbue a simple fable played out by a woodland cast.

Though Fox is eager for rest after a long night of hunting, his curiosity is piqued when he hears the birds singing a strange new song. He follows them to a dead bird in a field. Fox’s confusion attracts the attention of Moth, who finds it difficult to explain what has happened to the bird. Instead, Moth tells Fox how the moon reflects the sun’s rays, even long after the sun has gone. Fox struggles to understand until Moth explains that the bird is dead. “I was trying to be kind,” Moth tells Fox. “Sad things are hard to hear. They are pretty hard to say, too. They should be told in little pieces.” As Fox grapples with the newfound realization, Moth offers solace if not the explanation he was seeking. Mountford does dual duty in giving voice to both the confusion that comes with death and a template on how to be there for those in pain. Tonally, the book never turns precious, the storytelling clear, concise, and sympathetic. All this is wonderfully accompanied by digital art resembling woodcuts and lithographs, the black of the fox, the birds, and the moth contrasting keenly with the colors of the natural world surrounding them. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Speaking to heart and eye in equal measures, a beautiful treatise on remembering life and helping those left behind. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-5362-2498-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Candlewick Studio

Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A VOICE IN THE STORM
by Karl James Mountford illustrated by Karl James Mountford

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TIDEMAGIC
by Clare Harlow ; illustrated by Karl James Mountford

- BOOK REVIEW
DEADLY HEARTS
by Michael Burgan ; illustrated by Karl James Mountford

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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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)