A worthwhile reflection on the long emotional aftermath of recent troubled times.
A bird advises a child on emotional intelligence in Greco’s debut picture book.
“Where should I go and what can I do… / When the world’s topsy turvy, and inside out too?” a redheaded child wonders as they dangle from a swingset, their feet toward the sky. Rhyming verse describes responses that will be familiar to both adults and children enduring stress, loss, and fear: “my heartbeats feel mad / my tummy is tingling; it’s hungry and sad.” A cardinal, flying upside down, offers unexpected wisdom: “Be mad and be sad; touch your heart with your hand. / That feeling inside? Others understand.” Other children, the bird says, are playing indoors, suffering boredom and the stress of parents who are distant, distracted, or “weeping.” The avian’s intelligence and authority are unexplained, and Greco’s text leans toward the Seussian (“one-million-times-two”). However, cogent truths abound: Children feel “all alone in the spaces [they] know,” stressed adults “stomp and shout”; and comfort can be found in punching pillows, wrapping oneself in blankets, or seeking help from others. Aftermatter offers more useful ideas about “big feelings,” the “locus of control,” and “self-soothing strategies.” Leigh’s art is basic, with flat colors and mittenlike hands, but effectively scaffolds the deep conversations the text encourages.
A worthwhile reflection on the long emotional aftermath of recent troubled times.Pub Date: April 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-03-914219-0
Page Count: 56
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.
In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.
Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063469730
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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