bookshelf

DRAW THE LINE

Name: DRAW THE LINE
Author: Kathryn Otoshi
ISBN: 978-1-62672-563-8

by Kathryn Otoshi ; illustrated by Kathryn Otoshi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 10, 2017

A simple, beautiful concept whose reach grows with each rereading.

bookshelf

A wordless musing on the nature of disagreements and friendship.

Two children, of differing skin tones, one with a shock of black hair and the other with a shock of light, draw lines on the ground. Loops and folds curl round each other until—amid a smack of violet watercolor backdrop—the lads bump into each other. Rueful surprise turns into pure glee when the children realize that if they connect their lines they can pick them up and play. Otoshi’s landscape-oriented spreads make expert use of the book’s gutter, each child on either side, with only the line allowed to cross. Emotions change when one child accidentally knocks the other over (the angry violet cloud appears again). Each tenaciously grabs hold of the line and pulls mightily. This fierce tug of war causes a crevice to appear in the gutter, feeding on anger, growing larger and larger. Clenched fists and taut muscles seethe with rage. But then, silence. The line they had been holding is now the horizon, with a spot of bright yellow peeking through the violet. One moment is all that is needed to choose to let go, mend rifts, and walk into future possibilities with a friend. Otoshi’s fluid watercolors are sheer loveliness, surpassed only by her ability to communicate big concepts with no words.

A simple, beautiful concept whose reach grows with each rereading. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-62672-563-8

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
CALLING THE WIND
by Trudy Ludwig ; illustrated by Kathryn Otoshi

- BOOK REVIEW
LUNCH EVERY DAY
by Kathryn Otoshi ; illustrated by Kathryn Otoshi

bookshelf

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...

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

A BIKE LIKE SERGIO'S

by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Noah Z. Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2016

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...

bookshelf

Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.

This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)