Enjoyable, though it has the feeling of a retread.
The gnome-filled fun continues in this companion book to Mayer and Horton’s charming Go Big or Go Gnome (2017).
Everygnome knows Ginger thanks to her curly red hair, but the spirited lass would rather be known for something else. When her friends Al and Gnorm remind her of the upcoming Winter Gnome Games, Ginger decides to compete to show the other gnomes that she’s much more than just awesome hair. “I can rock this!” The big day comes, and Ginger is ready. She shreds on her sled, she spins and zooms during the figure-skating competition, and she shows off her hockey skills during the curling event. Unfortunately, she doesn’t quite stick to the game rules at each competition. “Disqualified!” cries Englebert, the Grandmaster of the Gnome Games. Even readers not familiar with Mayer and Horton’s previous outing will guess what’s coming next, yet Ginger is likable enough to carry the story through its less-than-inspired second half. When a squirrel takes Al for an unexpected ride, Ginger steps up to save her friend, consequently earning the other gnomes’ respect and admiration (even the cantankerous Englebert’s). Featuring Mayer’s lighthearted narratorial voice, amusing details, and some returning characters, Ginger’s adventure also shares with its predecessor a bare-bones narrative and a nice if dull ending. Meanwhile, Horton’s dynamic illustrations continue to please with a diverse cast of gnomes—though the primary cast is an all-pale one—and scenes full of antics in winter wonderlands.
Enjoyable, though it has the feeling of a retread. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-12394-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Imprint
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017
Adults will do better skipping the book and talking with their children.
Social-equity themes are presented to children in ABC format.
Terms related to intersectional inequality, such as “class,” “gender,” “privilege,” “oppression,” “race,” and “sex,” as well as other topics important to social justice such as “feminism,” “human being,” “immigration,” “justice,” “kindness,” “multicultural,” “transgender,” “understanding,” and “value” are named and explained. There are 26 in all, one for each letter of the alphabet. Colorful two-page spreads with kid-friendly illustrations present each term. First the term is described: “Belief is when you are confident something exists even if you can’t see it. Lots of different beliefs fill the world, and no single belief is right for everyone.” On the facing page it concludes: “B is for BELIEF / Everyone has different beliefs.” It is hard to see who the intended audience for this little board book is. Babies and toddlers are busy learning the names for their body parts, familiar objects around them, and perhaps some basic feelings like happy, hungry, and sad; slightly older preschoolers will probably be bewildered by explanations such as: “A value is an expression of how to live a belief. A value can serve as a guide for how you behave around other human beings. / V is for VALUE / Live your beliefs out loud.”
Adults will do better skipping the book and talking with their children. (Board book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-78603-742-8
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
A mixed bag.
An alphabetical tour of emotions.
This British import mixes words that many young kids will know, such as brave, kind, and mad (the last defined in the American sense, as angry), with less-familiar ones such as overwhelmed and vulnerable. It even features at least one word that may be new to adults: “X is for Xenial….Xenial is being welcoming to strangers.” Compounding the difficulty here, the visual image of a Black kid dressed as a magician hugging a rabbit they’ve pulled out of a hat does not exactly illustrate xeniality (xenialness?). Other illustrations do a better job of helping readers understand the words being introduced. The illustrations feature racially diverse children and are usually paired in each double-page spread: “A is for Anxious. Anxious is feeling really worried about something. / B is for Brave. Brave is being nervous about something and doing it anyway.” On the A page, a brown-skinned kid cowers from the dragon that encircles their bed, as in a nightmare. Across the gutter on the B page, the ferociously scowling child confronts the now-intimidated monster. Kids will get an immediate sense of those two words. Animals, real and imaginary, often play a role in the pictures. The book will be best shared one on one or in very small groups, when children can really spend time examining the pictures and talking about their own impression of what is happening in each picture. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A mixed bag. (word list) (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-20519-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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