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
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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
BOOK REVIEW
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