An empathetic work about kindness and forgiveness.
A bully works on changing his ways in Ward’s picture book.
Nester often steals his classmates’ homework, pushes them around, and throws tantrums. One day, his teacher reads a story about a regretful bully whose behavior forced a classmate to switch schools, and as a result, Nester feels sorry about his own actions. That night, he prays and promises to be “kind and strong.” The next day, Nester’s teacher encourages him to apologize to the other kids. They appreciate his gesture and agree that they’d “rather have fun” than “hold a grudge.” Nester tries to be kinder and cultivates friendships. In rhyming text with religious sentiments (“a touch of God’s love”), Ward’s book tackles a common school scenario. The author thoughtfully emphasizes how one’s actions affect others and shows how one may forgive people who are trying to make amends. Mehra’s charming, cartoonlike illustrations depict characters with expressive faces and large, round eyes as well as lively school settings, including a playground with a basketball court. Readers will enjoy intriguing details, such as the fact that the classroom’s wallpaper is decorated with pictures of backpacks, globes, and school buses. Nester and his teacher have dark skin and dark hair, and the other students show a range of skin tones. A glossary and discussion questions are included.
An empathetic work about kindness and forgiveness.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-7351898-2-6
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Mind Shape Up LLC
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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
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