A charming tale that portrays bicultural kindness.
Two girls forge a strong connection during two gift-giving holidays in this debut picture book.
One year, the Muslim holiday Eid and Christmas coincide. Blond-haired Eva’s school honors Christmas by performing A Christmas Carol for an orphanage. Brown-haired Aya’s school celebrates Eid by inviting orphans to have cake and lemonade. Both girls are pleased with what they’ve shared. The next day, the two girls go to the same toy store and get stuck together in an elevator. To help the girls focus on something less scary, Eva invents a game where both guess each other’s presents. But when they finally leave the elevator, the girls rethink their gifts when they remember the orphans and decide to give their presents to others instead. Aya donates hers to a church’s orphanage, and Eva offers hers to an orphanage run by a mosque. Elzein uses simple sentences to convey the story, focusing on the two girls’ budding friendship rather than bogging down the tale with details behind each holiday. The message of compassion and giving, especially across cultural lines, comes through clearly in accessible language for independent and lap readers. Hasan uses kid-friendly digital art to depict both girls as distinct members of their own ethnic groups, and Aya’s mother wears a hijab. (Both religious leaders are men.) Though the story’s location is never revealed, the blooming trees and flowers and an amusement park ride indicate a warm-winter (or Southern Hemisphere) site.
A charming tale that portrays bicultural kindness.Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2020
ISBN: 979-8-57-505527-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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
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