An excellent example of how well comics can work for early readers, this warm and accessible story is sure to be a favorite.
There are so many things to do when it rains!
Hooray! It’s Saturday. But wait—it’s raining. What are two sisters to do? Older sibling Matilda is absolutely full of ideas and ready to lead younger Clemmie on a grand adventure. What will they do first? It all begins with rain boots and entails a very special red balloon, a wink to the classic book and film. Celebrated Argentine cartoonist Liniers offers a warm visual welcome to early readers in this graphic novel; lively watercolors in comic format provide plenty of memorable images and details to examine and savor. The gentle humor and mild suspense will quickly draw readers in, while brief sentences and appropriately challenging vocabulary, flawlessly interwoven with pictures that provide visual cues, leave room for readers to decipher, consider and comprehend. Natural repetition allows for practice. Overall, this satisfying tale captures the camaraderie of two sisters and shows how the oldest doesn’t always have the answers. Now, what will the girls do on Sunday? Achoo! Uh-oh….
An excellent example of how well comics can work for early readers, this warm and accessible story is sure to be a favorite. (Early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-935179-32-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: TOON/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
Hopeful, if a little relentless.
On the way to school, a child lists all the qualities that differentiate a best friend from a friend.
When the narrator announces, “Today, I will find a best friend!” Mama is a little dubious. It’s just the first day of school, after all. This kid is confident it will happen “like that!” and proceeds to describe what makes a best friend. A regular friend may lend a crayon, but “a best friend lends you a brand-new, extra-sharp green crayon. Even if you’re drawing a tree with 3,811 green leaves.” Similarly, regular friends sit next to you at storytime, help you build block towers, and swing with you; best friends hold your hand if the story is scary, rebuild fallen towers with you, and push you on the swings. As the child, who, like Mama, presents White, continues the litany, the illustrations alternate between views of the child and Mama and the scenarios the child describes being played out at school, with a different member of the class occupying the best-friend role in each. These classmates are racially diverse; two wear glasses, and one uses a wheelchair. By the end, readers may be a little worn down by the level of self-sacrifice expected of this hypothetical best friend, but the child’s final statement that the “number one, guaranteed best way to spot a best friend” is “to be a best friend, too” promises reciprocity.
Hopeful, if a little relentless. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-17927-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Rodale Kids
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
No need to scratch beneath the surface of this text to find the glint of gold. It’s apparent right from the start.
A tender, probing appreciation of what lies just below the surface.
Tucked beneath a quilt in the center of the bed, Finn is having a horrible day. “Grandpa wanted to talk about it. Finn did not.” The child is quite certain that Grandpa won’t understand, but the old man convinces Finn to take a walk with him (still under the quilt) and is soon pointing out instances where what’s on the surface conceals hidden complexities—trees with deep roots, for instance, and water teeming with fish. “Beneath appearances are experiences. Beneath actions are explanations. Beneath what’s different is what’s the same,” he says. As Finn slowly emerges from the quilt, Grandpa ties it all together: “Beneath someone who looks like they won’t understand…is someone who knows exactly how you feel.” As in her The Rabbit Listened (2018), Doerrfeld has crafted another brief yet incisive picture book. Here, her cozy yet vibrant art advocates for understanding and acceptance alongside the artist’s unique brand of straightforward simplicity. Grandpa’s tour begins big (with nature) and seems to narrow in focus (with an exploration of emotions), but Doerrfeld caps the book off brilliantly with Finn pointing out the cosmic stars above. “Don’t worry…I’ll remember to think of what’s beneath”—a breathtaking clincher. Grandpa and Finn are both tan-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
No need to scratch beneath the surface of this text to find the glint of gold. It’s apparent right from the start. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-316-31226-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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