The children look understandably anxious from first to last, but for readers at least, the not-too-scary monsters and...
A parental date night sparks a wild flurry of imagined “What if?” disasters from the children left at home.
Hardly are Mom and Dad out the door than the two sibs have them being attacked by evil unicorns and hostile ostriches, assailed by vampires, menaced by a giant squid, and—reduced to the size of crumbs thanks to minicupcakes made with too much “shrinking powder”—washed down a drain toward a waiting horde of equally tiny sewer alligators. Fortunately the children’s sitter, being both calm and canny, has clever ways to escape each pickle on tap: asked how the kids’ parents would “get big again,” she says, “Have you ever had a jumbo-sized cookie? Well, how do you think they make them jumbo-sized?” The co-authors are professional improv/stand-up performers, and that background shows in the rapid, free-form way scenarios develop as they’re tossed back and forth. They theatrically build to a crescendo and end in a burst of relief with the parents’ return, looking none the worse for their fanciful (or, to judge from the closing scene, maybe not so fanciful) adventures. Though Bui puts the grown-ups in a classic convertible and adds other retro notes, the casual clothing, not to mention dad’s knit cap, give the cartoon illustrations a contemporary vibe. Parents, kids, and babysitter are all white.
The children look understandably anxious from first to last, but for readers at least, the not-too-scary monsters and quickly foiled threats turn the whole situation into an entertaining game. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-57687-747-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: POW!
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2015
An awesome-tastic invitation to have or share thoughts about bad and better choices.
Actor Tatum’s effervescent heroine steals a friend’s toy and then lies about it.
Thrilled about an upcoming play date with new classmate Wyatt, Sparkella considers her own sparkly stuffies, games, and accessories and silently decides that he’d be more interested in her friend Tam’s remote-controlled minicar. While she and Tam are playing together, Sparkella takes the car when Tam isn’t looking. Tam melts down at school the next day, and Sparkella, seeing her “bestest friend” losing her sparkle, feels “icky, oogy, and blech.” And when Wyatt comes over, he turns out to be far more entranced by glittery goods than some old car. When Sparkella yells at him—“WYATT, YOU HAVE TO PLAY WITH THIS CAR RIGHT NOW!”—her dad overhears and asks where the toy came from…and along with being a thief, Sparkella turns out to be the worst. Liar. Ever. She eventually confesses (her dad forgives her), apologizes (ditto Wyatt and even Tam), and goes on to take part in a three-way play date/sparklefest. Her absolution may come with unlikely ease, but it’s comfortingly reassuring, and her model single dad does lay down a solid parental foundation by allowing that everyone makes mistakes and stressing that she is “never going to be punished for telling the truth in this house.” He and Sparkella present White, a previous entry cued brown-skinned Tam as Asian, and Wyatt has brown skin in Barnes’ candy-hued pictures. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An awesome-tastic invitation to have or share thoughts about bad and better choices. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 30, 2023
ISBN: 9781250750778
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A message delivered many times…but still true blue–ish.
The first day of school might not go too well, nor the second—but the third time’s the sparkly charm in actor Tatum’s picture-book debut.
Working a particularly effervescent variation on the well-trod “just be yourself” lesson, Barnes depicts young Ella (“You can call me Sparkella”) and their single dad positively exploding with stars and twinkles bursting from flamboyant garb and dancing along to school. But if Sparkella turns out to be a bit much for their new class, Day 2’s plainly dressed Ella just leaves the protagonist bored and lonely. There’s nothing for it but to share a little dance party that night with Dad (who had a hard day himself) and recite the pledge that the duo use to combat nervousness: “Close my eyes and know that everything I could need is already there inside of me.” The next day, Sparkella’s not the only child fizzing away in class and by lunchtime is trading half of an almond butter, jam, blueberry, and whipped cream sandwich for some of new friend Tam’s bánh mì. Sometimes, as the scintillant young narrator puts it, “all you can do is be more you-ish.” Sparkella and Dad are light-skinned, Tam is brown-skinned, and the class is racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A message delivered many times…but still true blue–ish. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-75075-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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