Quiet thinkers will enjoy meeting a character like themselves, and others may gain a better understanding of those who crave...
Everyone in the Bungle family squeaks, squawks and squelches too much for Sam, the quiet, dreamy middle-child creature (the Bungles look vaguely like raccoons).
Sam is bombarded by noise in Doyle's captivatingly onomatopoeic free verse. Vere illustrates sound as colorful bubbles and bursts that issue forth from each family member. Against the paper-bag–brown background, readers see pink upside-down teardrop shapes coming from Mama, a purple balloon of sound from Granny’s knitting needles and a spiky orange blast from sister Bella. But poor Sam has a squiggly tornado of black lines above his head. He needs to get away from this noise. “So he upped / and so he offed / and so he wandered / to the woods.” At first all is bliss, as he finds himself surrounded by clouds, trees and a small stream. Bunnies and birds emit tiny sound shapes in pink, yellow and blue. Sam is inspired to create some rhymes, but gradually it gets dark. The deepening purple scenes become increasingly scary as he feels “a flitter-flutter / flap around his face” and then a “slippy-slidy / [slither] / down his neck!” Young ones will see that these threatening things are only benign nocturnal creatures. Predictably, Sam must resort to the behavior he usually loathes and yells for help. Slowly he hears his family come for him as a double-page spread shows him happily engulfed in a “HURRICANE OF NOISE!”
Quiet thinkers will enjoy meeting a character like themselves, and others may gain a better understanding of those who crave a little peace. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6226-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2012
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their...
Ruby is an adventurous and happy child until the day she discovers a Worry.
Ruby barely sees the Worry—depicted as a blob of yellow with a frowny unibrow—at first, but as it hovers, the more she notices it and the larger it grows. The longer Ruby is affected by this Worry, the fewer colors appear on the page. Though she tries not to pay attention to the Worry, which no one else can see, ignoring it prevents her from enjoying the things that she once loved. Her constant anxiety about the Worry causes the bright yellow blob to crowd Ruby’s everyday life, which by this point is nearly all washes of gray and white. But at the playground, Ruby sees a boy sitting on a bench with a growing sky-blue Worry of his own. When she invites the boy to talk, his Worry begins to shrink—and when Ruby talks about her own Worry, it also grows smaller. By the book’s conclusion, Ruby learns to control her Worry by talking about what worries her, a priceless lesson for any child—or adult—conveyed in a beautifully child-friendly manner. Ruby presents black, with hair in cornrows and two big afro-puff pigtails, while the boy has pale skin and spiky black hair.
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their feelings (. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0237-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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