Gorgeous and grounding—a gentle guide to outgrowing your fears.
Shrinking Violet must face her anxieties when a friend needs her most.
Violet, who inhabits a “stately castle near the forest by the sea” with her avian pal, is at ease when she’s with Bird, but she becomes overwhelmed by fear whenever he flies off to explore. When Violet is frightened, her body shrinks until she’s nothing but a tiny wisp. One night, she races toward the faraway sound of Bird’s alarmed chirping. Narrowly escaping an enormous predatory bird, Violet is so terrified that she’s nearly invisible by the time she reaches her injured friend, and the larger bird has returned. But Violet is filled with love, and something magical happens: She grows until she’s taller than even the trees, bursting with courage. Even the book can scarcely contain Violet as her looming form nearly stretches off the page. Once the danger has passed, Violet visualizes favorite things—like warm toast with butter—until she’s just the right size to carry her friend home. The two live “ever after, if not always happily,” with Violet sometimes shrinking, sometimes growing, but always able to look inward and anchor herself. Snyder relies on sweet, quiet text to craft a modern mindfulness fairy tale starring an uncertain yet strong hero. Rendered in Pham’s signature gouache, the pages glow with lush, saturated blues and purples as pale-skinned, dark-haired Violet trembles, twirls, and ultimately blossoms into pastel rainbows of courage.
Gorgeous and grounding—a gentle guide to outgrowing your fears. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9781797200729
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle...
Making things is difficult work. Readers will recognize the stages of this young heroine’s experience as she struggles to realize her vision.
First comes anticipation. The artist/engineer is spotted jauntily pulling a wagonload of junkyard treasures. Accompanied by her trusty canine companion, she begins drawing plans and building an assemblage. The narration has a breezy tone: “[S]he makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” The colorful caricatures and creations contrast with the digital black outlines on a white background that depict an urban neighborhood. Intermittent blue-gray panels break up the white expanses on selected pages showing sequential actions. When the first piece doesn’t turn out as desired, the protagonist tries again, hoping to achieve magnificence. A model of persistence, she tries many adjustments; the vocabulary alone offers constructive behaviors: she “tinkers,” “wrenches,” “fiddles,” “examines,” “stares” and “tweaks.” Such hard work, however, combines with disappointing results, eventually leading to frustration, anger and injury. Explosive emotions are followed by defeat, portrayed with a small font and scaled-down figures. When the dog, whose expressions have humorously mirrored his owner’s through each phase, retrieves his leash, the resulting stroll serves them well. A fresh perspective brings renewed enthusiasm and—spoiler alert—a most magnificent scooter sidecar for a loyal assistant.
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle characterization for maximum delight. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-55453-704-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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