Nicely pitched to young readers’ empathies.
An ordinary city pigeon follows a little boy onto a subway train.
Pax is a small white boy with round glasses, bright green boots, a red lunch bag, and a backpack—and a pigeon friend whom he calls Blue and feeds daily with a bit of toast. When this morning Pax is “rushed along” by his mother (“Mom can’t be late”), the bird pursues them, down the steps to the subway and right into their car. Blue is definitely out of place. The bird’s look of surprise is a comical, extremely up-close, full-bleed double-page spread: “Uh oh.” It’s soon clear that affection for the pigeon is Pax’s alone—the other passengers’ flailing arms and alarmed cries of “Yuck!” “Shoo!” and “Ick!” amusingly reveal their feelings about the pigeon on the train. But Pax thinks quickly and helps Blue leave the train the next time the doors open. Reassuringly—as Blue is left alone on the empty platform—the text reads, “Pax knew / he would see Blue again tomorrow morning.” Richmond’s cartoon style keeps Pax and Blue at the front of the story with the bustle of the city as background. Pale yellow cabs with checker designs rush by on the streets, while a cross section of the subway station shows a variety of people (all white as the paper they’re printed on) and activities.
Nicely pitched to young readers’ empathies. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5132-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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