An important and well-illustrated consideration of a common problem among kids.
Jeffrey offers a picture book about a girl struggling with debilitating test anxiety.
During recess with her second grade class, Katie is happy and worry-free. After returning to the classroom, though, her expression changes to one of terror. The blank sheet of paper on her desk signals a spelling test, and her anxiety about it makes her scribble on her desk after teacher Miss Julie calls out the first word. Now she also feels intense embarrassment because the whole class sees what she’s done. Katie’s teacher gently talks to her about what happened; at home, her parents also try to console her, but she remains distraught. The next day, Miss Julie demonstrates an exercise that can help her and other children manage their anxiety. Jeffrey valuably lists the physical symptoms that the anxious Katie is overcome by, which will help young readers understand her unusual response. The placement of the text within Kilmartin’s full-color, realistically illustrated scenes, however, isn’t seamless; larger blocks sometimes clutter up the visual landscape. Although Katie is the star of the story, the watercolor paintings make her classmates distinctive as well. The images also show the stark contrast between Katie’s gleeful abandon and her fraught consternation. Katie is portrayed with pale skin, and other characters are depicted with a range of skin tones.
An important and well-illustrated consideration of a common problem among kids.Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9798218968427
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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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