Will resonate with kids who have lost grandparents or other family members.
In this middle-grade novel, 12-year-old Sophia heads to the shore with her family only to find that things are different than they were before.
When Sophia arrives at her grandparents’ beach cottage for the first weekend of summer, as she does every year, she is excited but nervous: Would this summer be just like all the others? Memi has passed away, and this is the first time that she will have a beach retreat alone with Poppy. Her first afternoon at the cottage, Poppy gives Sophia trinkets from Memi—a china teapot, a calico apron, a handful of sea glass—and she is lost in the memory of her grandmother and what these little pieces meant to her. That night, when she sees Poppy laughing and talking with Tessie, Memi’s best friend, she is shocked: How could they forget about Memi so quickly? Why is Poppy smiling with another woman? Sophia would never forget about Memi. She and her summer friend, Thomas, talk about it, and Sophia continues to not only remember Memi, but to stay angry at Poppy. As Sophia’s weekend progresses, she must learn that honoring Memi and moving on are very much the same. Bauer’s touching debut may be enjoyed by all ages. While the prose is simple (but not too simple!) for younger readers, adult eyes will not tire of its rhythm, expressive language and descriptions of the seashore. Its pacing is also excellent—a difficult feat in a short book, but Bauer skillfully holds interest with a balance of journey and realization. Notes by Memi, included in the book, add a personal angle to Sophia’s grief. The work is a revealing, immersive look at death through a child’s eyes: It is easy, for a child, to think that moving on is forgetting about a person who has passed on. Adults know that this is not so.
Will resonate with kids who have lost grandparents or other family members.Pub Date: March 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-1495202766
Page Count: 60
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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