by Linda Sarah ; illustrated by Benji Davies ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 19, 2016
Excellent, believable advice, with boxes—what could be better than that? (Picture book. 4-8)
For those few blighted souls out there who are unaware of this fact, cardboard boxes are a kid’s answer to pretty much everything.
Birt and Etho are a couple of mites with a couple of nice-sized boxes that can launch friendships—and lots of other ships: pirate, flagships, and submarines. Each day they drag the boxes up Sudden Hill and become kings, astronauts, naturalists watching the world go by, ant by ant. Sarah is not goopy with the language, though its pleasing atmosphere can get somewhat filigreed: “Birt loves their two-by-two rhythm.” As will happen, “one Monday morning (it’s cramping cold) they meet another box-carrier.” Etho is ready for a comrade, Birt not so. Indeed, Birt retreats home one night and jumps on his box until it’s flat as an album cover. Birt ignores Shu and Etho’s entreaties to come and play, until...they arrive with a box contraption built for three. It’s a crazy Rube Goldberg device, clattering, careening, crashing: it’s Mr. ClimbFierce or sometimes a Monster-Creature-Box Thing. Of course it is. Birt “loves their three-by-three rhythm. / It’s new. And it’s good.” Davies’ alluring rustic-looking artwork with just the right slants of light salve this story considerably.
Excellent, believable advice, with boxes—what could be better than that? (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62779-330-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
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by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Chloe Dominique ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
Pleasant enough but not particularly original.
Uplifting messages of positivity from the Today show anchor.
Hope springs eternal, so the saying goes. Kotb agrees, here delivering to children the cheery news that hope lives inside all of them and that whatever they might wish for can be theirs. All they need is a sunny outlook, and the possibilities for happy outcomes are virtually endless. Children’s dreams can be in-the-moment ones—like purple ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry—or more far-ranging ones, such as growing tall enough to reach that high shelf easily or for hair that’s long enough to braid. It doesn’t matter, the author reassures young readers. Your aspirations will be realized, so don’t give up on them—just keep believing in them and, most of all, in yourself. Throughout, Kotb calls hope a rainbow, a feeling, a gift, and a wish. Hope is “new friends you’ll find— / friends who are loving and funny and kind.” Hope is “practicing your heart out, letter by letter.” The book’s overarching theme is upbeat, but its bouncy rhyming text is clumsy. The child-appealing illustrations are colorful and lively, though they have a generic look. The cast of wide-eyed characters is racially diverse; some have visible disabilities.
Pleasant enough but not particularly original. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624128
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
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BOOK REVIEW
by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Suzie Mason
by Phil Rosenthal & Lily Rosenthal ; illustrated by Luke Flowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024
Amusing but misleading on the nutritional and behavioral fronts.
With one taste of despised mustard, a child pivots from rejecting new foods to seeking them.
Dad takes Lil to a food truck festival. Lil, who narrates the story, is nervous; this child’s list of acceptable foods is short (pizza, rice, grilled cheese, french fries, and vanilla ice cream). Dad loves varied tastes and repeatedly reminds Lil of his rule: “Just try it!” With a “YECCCH!” or an “EWWWWWW!” Lil refuses a bagel loaded with toppings, linguini with clams, Peking duck, pizza with spinach and garlic, and a pretzel covered with Lil’s most hated of foods: mustard. Frustrated, Lil accidentally knocks the pretzel onto Dad’s shirt. Lil apologizes, takes a lick of mustard…and instantly learns to appreciate every rejected offering. Lil then uses the title mantra to pressure Dad onto a nausea-inducing roller-coaster ride. Bright, cartoon-style illustrations emphasize the pair's upbeat mood. Food neophobia, or an aversion to eating anything novel, has complex psychosocial roots. But in this blithe little fable, the child’s resistance is completely overcome with a single accidental exposure, and the formerly picky eater immediately becomes a novelty seeker. The turnaround here is implausible; if this book creates any expectations of a sudden dramatic change in a child’s behavior, that would be a disservice. Both Dad and Lil are light-skinned.
Amusing but misleading on the nutritional and behavioral fronts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781665942638
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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