Welcome Ruby Lu! In what is billed as the first in a series, Ruby Lu bursts onto the scene with Oscar, her beloved baby brother, at her side. Whether she is furling her cape and performing backyard magic tricks or visiting her grandparents, PohPoh and GungGung, Ruby’s enthusiasm for life bubbles out of her. She loves her house, her neighborhood, her second-grade teacher and, well, just about everything. When Oscar begins to talk, Ruby learns just how hard being a big sister can be. He reveals the secret of her best magic trick and easily learns the words to the songs at Saturday Chinese school, slowly deflating her ego. Young readers will identify with Ruby’s excitement and good intentions, even when she is slowly and carefully driving her brother to Chinese school and parking the family car in the principal’s spot. Wilsdorf’s airy pencil illustrations joyfully bounce through the text. Hooray for Ruby Lu: she can ably join Hurwitz’s Russell and Elisa, McGovern’s Julian, and Cleary’s Ramona on the shelves of excellent series fiction for new chapter-book readers. (Fiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-689-84907-9
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2004
Heartfelt reflections on the importance of kinship with nature.
An Indigenous gardener matures—and vows to protect the environment.
The young narrator spends summer days with loving great-grandparents who impart important lessons: “These trees are our ancestors” and “We thank them with a song, a blessing, and a few drops of water.” From mountains to rivers, every part of nature is alive, and the child learns to listen to the plants, who offer food, promise to quench the little one’s thirst, and provide smoke to “lift your prayers to heaven.” As the youngster grows, so does the surrounding cityscape, silencing the animals and plants. The now-adult protagonist wanders, alone and lost—before coming across a tiny plant sprouting from the gray concrete. Inspired, the narrator decides, “From one, I would grow many.” Trees and flowers fill the pages. Later scenes show the protagonist with a young son, who also learns to listen to the wisdom of the plants. Hummingbird—a descendant from the Cahuilla nation of Southern California’s Inland Empire and the Apache nation of New Mexico—and Wasson matter-of-factly emphasize the importance of respect for the environment. Goodnight’s (Chickasaw Nation) realistic art complements this tender story. Soft, natural colors add warmth, while leaves and acorns adorn the endpapers, underscoring the themes of growth, compassion, and strength. In the backmatter, the authors note that plants, like animals, can go extinct; they leave readers with suggestions for growing native plants in their own homes and backyards.
Heartfelt reflections on the importance of kinship with nature. (resources) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9780063221284
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
A lovely vision for small, sensitive existentialists.
Under the desert night sky, Dad helps his child find cosmic comfort.
The vast universe has made a child feel too small despite their close family. Until, the young narrator tells us, they and their father pack their old pickup, driving through the “rubber and french fries” smell of the city and the “sweet and smoky” mountain scent to camp off-road in a remote arroyo. Together they see tiny beetle prints, jump in sand dunes, name birds, build a fire, watch the sunset, and stretch out in the truck bed. A thoughtful, small human, the child admits to being scared of “how big the universe is and how it goes on and on forever.” But equally thoughtful Dad explains that stars, beetles, birds, and even people are made of energy. Angst is not easily tamed, but snuggling and giving the constellations idiosyncratic names help, as does Mom’s back-at-home surprise: glowing stars covering the narrator’s room. In this bed under the stars, this budding philosopher finally feels “at home here in the universe.” It’s a quiet, contemplative tale that might not strike a chord with all readers but will reassure those who share the protagonist’s worries. Delicate, realistic art plays warm orange and brown hues against blues from pale to indigo, balancing (living) warmth and (interstellar) distance. The child and family are light-skinned and redheaded. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A lovely vision for small, sensitive existentialists. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1239-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
