Multiple titles already explore nearly identical themes, and at this point any of them will suffice until the industry...
Newman adds to her lengthy resume of LGBT–themed books for children with this story about sibling rivalry and gender nonconformity.
Despite the title, this book is not about Casey, the titular Sparkle Boy. It’s about his big sister, Jessie, and her ongoing attempts to bully, shame, and otherwise convince her little brother that “boys don’t wear shimmery skirts,” paint their fingernails, or otherwise accessorize. Casey’s parents and abuelita, indicated as a Latino or mixed family, are refreshingly supportive and kind, but Jessie’s anger overshadows much of the story. Readers never learn why Jessie feels such antagonism, with no space given for reflection or empathy, nor does Casey display much depth of personality beyond his ravenlike attraction to shiny things. Of course, Jessie has a sudden and clichéd change of heart at the very end, when she’s compelled to protect her brother against other children making identical accusations about his gender expression, and by the end the siblings “adore...each other.” With illustrations that are colorful yet subdued and stationary, there’s little to distinguish this story from other recent picture books about femme boys and trans girls who are forced to endure maltreatment from family, community, or both.
Multiple titles already explore nearly identical themes, and at this point any of them will suffice until the industry yields more interesting and nuanced portrayals. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62014-285-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
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