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 Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires.
Little Blue Truck feels, well, blue when he delivers valentine after valentine but receives nary a one.
His bed overflowing with cards, Blue sets out to deliver a yellow card with purple polka dots and a shiny purple heart to Hen, one with a shiny fuchsia heart to Pig, a big, shiny, red heart-shaped card to Horse, and so on. With each delivery there is an exchange of Beeps from Blue and the appropriate animal sounds from his friends, Blue’s Beeps always set in blue and the animal’s vocalization in a color that matches the card it receives. But as Blue heads home, his deliveries complete, his headlight eyes are sad and his front bumper droops ever so slightly. Blue is therefore surprised (but readers may not be) when he pulls into his garage to be greeted by all his friends with a shiny blue valentine just for him. In this, Blue’s seventh outing, it’s not just the sturdy protagonist that seems to be wilting. Schertle’s verse, usually reliable, stumbles more than once; stanzas such as “But Valentine’s Day / didn’t seem much fun / when he didn’t get cards / from anyone” will cause hitches during read-alouds. The illustrations, done by Joseph in the style of original series collaborator Jill McElmurry, are pleasant enough, but his compositions often feel stiff and forced.
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-27244-1
Page Count: 20
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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