While princess-loving readers may be charmed, there’s little else to recommend this title
Can Princess Snowbelle overcome her jitters to sing at the Snow Ball?
Of course she can—with a little help from her best friend, Sparkleshine. The princess, depicted as a white girl with brown hair and blue eyes, has never sung in front of such a big audience, but her royal parents want her to sing at the ball, and she knows she can do it as long as her best friend is there to play the piano for her. Sparkleshine is depicted as a child of color with brown skin and dark curly hair, and she’s given neither a title nor a family of her own in the text. When Sparkleshine is late arriving at the Opaline Palace for the ball, Princess Snowbelle sets off on horseback to find her, but she becomes lost in the forest. Luckily, a bevy of animal friends help the princess rescue Sparkleshine, and the girls arrive at the palace just in time to change into sparkly dresses and give their performance. Despite a preponderance of princess-y gimmicks in text and art—a magical charm bracelet, for example—the text is lackluster and message-heavy, and the illustrations do little to improve the storytelling. Sparkleshine’s subordinate role is particularly discouraging.
While princess-loving readers may be charmed, there’s little else to recommend this title . (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68119-690-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
Banal affirmation buoyed by charming illustrations.
Diversity is the face of this picture book designed to inspire confidence in children.
Fans of Byers and Bobo’s I Am Enough (2018) will enjoy this book that comes with a universal message of self-acceptance. A line of children practices ballet at the barre; refreshingly, two of the four are visibly (and adorably) pudgy. Another group tends a couple of raised beds; one of them wears hijab. Two more children coax a trepidatious friend down a steep slide. Further images, of children pretending to be pirates, dragons, mimes, playing superhero and soccer, and cooking, are equally endearing, but unfortunately they don’t add enough heft to set the book apart from other empowerment books for children. Though the illustrations shine, the text remains pedagogic and bland. Clichés abound: “When I believe in myself, there’s simply nothing I can’t do”; “Sometimes I am right, and sometimes I am wrong. / But even when I make mistakes, I learn from them to make me strong.” The inclusion of children with varying abilities, religions, genders, body types, and racial presentations creates an inviting tone that makes the book palatable. It’s hard to argue with the titular sentiment, but this is not the only book of its ilk on the shelf.
Banal affirmation buoyed by charming illustrations. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-266713-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
In the end too much is left unanswered, making this book pleasant but only passable
A mouse searches for and finally finds her missing Seder plate.
Pippa is an industrious house-cleaning mouse. And no wonder—Passover is starting this very evening. Dusting and sweeping finished, she turns her attention to setting the table as a pot of chicken stew bubbles away on the stovetop. But there is one very important object that is missing: the “special Seder plate.” Frantically, the mouse searches through boxes and cupboards and finally ventures into the yard. First she encounters a very large cat and asks if it has seen the plate. “No,” answers the cat and points her to a snake, who sends her to an owl, who directs her to Golda Fish, prettily swimming in the water. Success! Kirkfield’s little tale is written in rhyming couplets with much repetition of “QUIVER! QUAVER! SHIVER! SHAKE!” for emphasis with each interaction with a predator, so readers will be mightily puzzled when the formerly frightful critters join Pippa at the holiday table. Weber’s gouache, crayon, and collage illustrations are sweetly pretty. The final illustration features a Seder plate with transliterated Hebrew and an English translation of the components. Readers familiar with the holiday may find this mildly enjoyable, but others will likely want and need more information.
In the end too much is left unanswered, making this book pleasant but only passable . (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4162-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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