by Margaret Park Bridges & illustrated by Melissa Sweet ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2001
With a little ingenuity, a sagacious mother turns rainy-day doldrums into dynamic adventures in housework. When Little Raccoon wanders listlessly around the house plaguing his mother with pleas for something to do, she gently encourages him to make a game out of cleaning up. Humdrum chores such as putting away the laundry and setting the table become exciting when Little Raccoon masquerades as a basketball pro and pretends to be dining al fresco. From sunup to sundown, Little Raccoon is busily, happily engaged, and at bedtime, he eagerly anticipates the next day’s activities. Bridges (Am I Big or Little?, 2000, etc.) takes a common childhood complaint and attempts to show the possibilities of judicious applications of imagination. Clever, but it all comes across a bit flat: the dialogue between mother and child, for example, is somewhat stilted and lacking an easy flow. Yet the ideas are so nifty, and the illustrations so appealing, that the story still manages to be engaging. Sweet’s (Bouncing Time, 2000, etc.) full-bleed illustrations are filled with bright hues and busy details. Each spread reflects both the physical and imaginative world, with one page depicting mother and child going about their chores, while the facing page reveals Little Raccoon’s vivid imaginings. A good way to jump-start the creative juices when the ho-hum blahs loom near. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-58717-046-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: SeaStar/North-South
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2001
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by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2018
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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by Sam McBratney ; illustrated by Anita Jeram ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 29, 2020
Readers are likely to love it to the moon and back.
Little Nutbrown Hare ventures out into the wide world and comes back with a new companion in this sequel to Guess How Much I Love You (1994).
Big Nutbrown Hare is too busy, so after asking permission, Little Nutbrown Hare scampers off over the rolling meadow to play by himself. After discovering that neither his shadow nor his reflection make satisfactory playmates (“You’re only another me!”), Little Nutbrown comes to Cloudy Mountain…and meets “Someone real!” It’s a white bunny who introduces herself as Tipps. But a wonderful round of digging and building and chasing about reaches an unexpected end with a game of hide-and-seek, because both hares hide! After waiting a long time to be found, Little Nutbrown Hare hops on home in disappointment, wondering whether he’ll ever see Tipps again. As it turns out, it doesn’t take long to find out, since she has followed him. “Now, where on earth did she come from?” wonders Big Nutbrown. “Her name is Tipps,” Little Nutbrown proudly replies, “and she’s my friend.” Jeram’s spacious, pale-toned, naturalistic outdoor scenes create a properly idyllic setting for this cozy development in a tender child-caregiver relationship—which hasn’t lost a bit of its appealing intimacy in the more than 25 years since its first appearance. As in the first, Big Nutbrown Hare is ungendered, facilitating pleasingly flexible readings.
Readers are likely to love it to the moon and back. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1747-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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