A unique and winning celebration of difference and creativity.
A rambunctious dog shows her young owner the beauty of being unique in Proia’s picture book.
Phebe is an excitable, gregarious Australian Shepherd. One day, Phebe’s owner, Rae (a young white girl), decides to take Phebe to an obedience class in the park. They are running late, so Rae tells Phebe to hurry, and Phebe takes this as permission to run. Unfortunately, it is only the first of many misunderstandings and mistakes for Phebe as she struggles to follow commands. But when it’s time to play fetch, Phebe outshines the rest of her classmates and demonstrates that being different is not synonymous with being a bad dog. Proia deftly renders a journey many readers will find familiar; Phebe’s experiences are representative of the challenges many neurodivergent individuals face throughout their lives. Phebe is seen as a problem (“I don’t know why you even bother with that dog, she never listens”), but the story gives Phebe a win, illustrating how a neurodivergent brain approaches and solves complex problems in creative ways. While the author doesn’t explicitly address race and ethnicity, the cast of characters is diverse, representing a variety of backgrounds. The prose, dialogue, and plot are cleanly executed and well-organized, resulting in an accessible, satisfying story for children. The charming, full-color illustrations by the author enhance the story and integrate with the text exceptionally well.
A unique and winning celebration of difference and creativity.Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9798988573012
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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