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
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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
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