by Liz Garton Scanlon ; illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014
A must for every child who has to move away and for teachers and parents who want to help children through these times.
Posy Peyton does not want to move away from her secret clubhouse, her books, her bird feeder or her friends.
Instead of a goodbye party, she and her friends have a good-pie party. Since everything is packed up except the kitchen, the three girls make a pie. They then invite neighbors and friends to a party to say so long (not goodbye). When everyone arrives with pies in hand, Posy and her friends replace their sadness with the joy of pie, whipped cream and lemonade. Building a giant pyramid of smiling children helps too. The party might not make the sadness disappear, but it does allow the friends some time to adjust to the new reality. Scanlon’s gentle, child’s-eye view of a common challenge hits the right notes—the move will happen, but memories link people forever. Denton’s gentle, muted watercolors get at the girls’ emotions with angry scowls and somber faces and extend the spare text. The furnished house transforms into empty rooms with tan boxes and bare walls, letting readers know the inevitability of the move. The final spreads, showing the pie-shaped moon, is a reminder that these friends will always share these special memories.
A must for every child who has to move away and for teachers and parents who want to help children through these times. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-44870-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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by Liz Garton Scanlon & Audrey Vernick ; illustrated by Lynnor Bontigao
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by Liz Garton Scanlon ; illustrated by Chuck Groenink
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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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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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