Young ones will need a bit of hand-holding for this simplified explanation of the New Thought movement’s law of attraction.
Boucher nobly attempts to make a rather complicated idea accessible by breaking down the law of attraction into three steps: “[S]ee in your head what you want. Believe you already have it. Make believe! When you wake up say ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you!’ ” That sounds simple enough for adults to do, but this process is much more difficult for children to comprehend—especially for those in the age group that will be drawn to Boucher’s watercolor illustrations of multicultural kids. Though the main concept presents a challenge, the book expresses other lovely, self-affirming thoughts: the beauty of being unique, believing in yourself, disregarding hurtful words and dreaming big. Again, these are major ideas that children might not be able to navigate on their own. However, this title would be an interesting starting point for a group or one-on-one discussion, since the text highlights the main ideas, and an adult would be able to fill in the blanks. For example: “Thoughts have power. They become things.” Though adults know what Boucher is trying to suggest, this wording will likely be confusing—and possibly frightening—for a group of little ones who are used to “power” being in the hands of Disney villains or Marvel superheroes. How do thoughts become “things” exactly? That’s a question an adult reader must help the child answer. At the conclusion of the book, Boucher leaves kids with several tasks, several of which are self-explanatory, such as “Laugh out loud! Tell your best friend.” But she also urges readers to “Send this happiness around the World three times.” How can kids (or adults, for that matter) even begin to do that? Perhaps including a parent/educator note to guide adults in sharing this message with children would help clarify these issues, or maybe the message could be embedded in a fictional story rather than pedagogical text.
Though this colorful picture book has a lot of heart, busy adults may prefer to share a clearer, more straightforward message.
Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-1452591421
Page Count: 28
Publisher: BalboaPress
Review Posted Online: July 9, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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