An encouraging introduction to the classroom.
In Jamerson’s debut picture book, a young boy feels anxious on his first day of school.
Oliver, a Black child, is not excited to be starting school. Oliver knows his letters, but not how to put them together into words. As a result, he accidentally sits at the desk belonging to Olivia, an Asian American girl with enormous red glasses. Although the whole class is just starting to learn reading, and everyone is encouraging and enthusiastic, Oliver feels disheartened because he assumes he is behind…especially when red-haired Sam sounds out a word he doesn’t recognize. By the end of the day, however, Oliver has learned not only how to blend sounds together but also how fun learning can be when friends help each other. Jamerson tells a heartening if unnuanced story, tackling Oliver’s anxiety and apprehension within the context of a wholly supportive environment shaped by an enthusiastic, upbeat teacher (Miss Green, who dresses to match her name); he’s immediately embraced by students who evince no negative qualities (“‘I’m so proud of you!’ says Miss Green. The whole class cheers and claps”). Oliver’s classmates (including one child with a hearing aid) are presented as a happy, sweet, ethnically diverse cohort. Remesz’s colorful illustrations capture the brightness and busyness of primary school, adding rainbow-hued, floating words to the vivacious digital images that keep the story bubbling along.
An encouraging introduction to the classroom.Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9798990148307
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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