A gentle, engaging, matter-of-fact tale about a public health measure.
A young girl introduces the people important to her with and without masks in this debut picture book.
It can be hard to identify people—and their emotions—when they are wearing masks that cover most of their faces. Konkol’s tale is narrated in the first person by a White girl named Sally with flower-bedazzled glasses and a mask printed with smiley faces. “Masks keep us safe from germs. Germs make us sick,” explains Sally. A page turn reveals that Sally is smiling behind her mask. So are Mom (heart mask), Sally’s sister (bow mask), and Dad (baseball mask). A nod to essential workers follows: A smiling grocery store clerk (doughnut mask) “puts food on our shelves.” Sally’s teacher, a Black woman, wears a mask with pencils and apples. A female doctor wears a mask, and a male nurse sports a mask and face shield. Sally’s friend Ben, who is Asian American, wears a mask and is the only nonsmiling character. Dogs definitely do not wear masks. Lack of details about Covid-19 or other prevention methods make this first and foremost an exploration of the visual differences in a child’s social world post-2020. The author’s basic, digital paintings with realistic proportions should help kids practice predicting facial expressions behind masks. The main strength of this enjoyable story lies in its anxiety-free approach to a new wardrobe standard represented in few picture books.
A gentle, engaging, matter-of-fact tale about a public health measure.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73591-961-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lisa Konkol Gallery, LLC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2021
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.
Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.
Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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