A sweet, charming story that could have practical applications.
Debut author Urban presents an illustrated children’s tale about a lost toy, the emotions that come with separation, and solving problems.
A young girl named Ella, like many other kids, has an especially beloved toy: a stuffed bunny named Lola. The animal, in the child’s imagination, hops around, plays with her, and can talk. While on an outing with Ella’s mom—apparently somewhere in England—Lola hops out of the stroller in which Ella is riding and decides to go on an adventure of her own. As a result, Ella and Lola become separated. The little girl looks for Lola for hours, and right before giving up, she enters a park with a pond in which Lola is swimming. She spies her friend, and they finally reunite. Ella gives Lola a bath to clean her up, and the two best friends discuss the adventures they each had over the course of the day and reaffirm how much they mean to each other. Over the course of Urban’s story, the author presents a relatable situation that many children will recognize from their own lives; young readers may very well use this book to help them feel better about losing their own toys. Kalla’s painterly, multimedia full-color illustrations are beautifully executed and fit perfectly with the tone and feeling of the story. The narrative itself is consistently engaging, clearly following the main character’s adventures without being overly long or complex. This book is clearly intended for very young children and is a fine pick for caregivers looking for a meaningful, visually compelling work that may help youngsters deal with a difficult situation.
A sweet, charming story that could have practical applications.Pub Date: June 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1915641113
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Little Steps/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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