A well-illustrated tale with thoughtful, age-appropriate messages of unity and diversity.
Kids unite in protesting an unfair ban on a fellow elementary school student’s cultural tradition in Elzein’s picture book.
Lisa is delighted when Lulu, a little girl about her age, moves in across the street. They bond over ice cream in the park, and Lisa admires the pretty headscarf, a hijab, that Lulu wears. The next day, the two friends walk together to school, where the principal tells Lulu that, due to a new ban, she must remove her hijab to enter. Lulu tells him that she cannot do so; he’s sympathetic, but says that everyone must follow the rules. Lisa supports Lulu’s stand by refusing to go to school if Lulu can’t, and soon gets other students to join their cause. Elzein’s clear text is never heavy-handed and models empathy in the actions of the students, parents, and a teacher, showing how simple action can effect positive change. The author’s vision of peaceful coexistence is complemented by Hasan’s full-color cartoonlike illustrations, which visualize the suburban world of Lisa (who’s Black), and Lulu (a light-skinned Muslim), in deft, full-page imagery. Lively, detailed scenes feature the park, a classroom, the interiors of the girls’ homes, and kids with varying skin tones and abilities. Sharp-eyed readers will also spot two cheery birds, yellow and blue, recurring throughout.
A well-illustrated tale with thoughtful, age-appropriate messages of unity and diversity.Pub Date: April 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-954507-06-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
