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MARGARET WISE BROWN'S MANNERS

Name: MARGARET WISE BROWN'S MANNERS
Author: Margaret Wise Brown
ISBN: 978-1-101-93973-4

by Margaret Wise Brown ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 9, 2017

Enigmatic, if not outright disjointed, and not well-served by these visuals.

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Previously unpublished reflections on behavior, amplified and exemplified in new illustrations featuring a cast of cute, small characters.

Slater’s recurrent cast of diversely colored figures with human bodies and outsized animal heads reduces Brown’s terse but nuanced text to superficial contrasts between polite and rude acts. The confusion begins with the opening “There is a way to say hello / and a way not to say hello”—which, like most of the similarly patterned following lines, could be interpreted several ways. Here the meaning is supposedly demonstrated by a wolf who is studiously reading and a bird looking at its wristwatch; both are made to seem rude by not acknowledging a rabbit’s greeting. Why should the rabbit, who is interrupting, be the one in the right? Later contrasts prescribe, for instance, ways to hold and not hold tableware, to “go up to a dog,” and “to make people like you” or “not to make people like you” (this last involving a group of rowdy campers on the ostensibly positive side and someone trying to sleep calling for “Quiet!” on the negative). Finally, whether the title is Brown’s or not, her final line (assuming it wasn’t just a place holder in the manuscript) suggests that she originally had more than rules of etiquette in mind: “There is a way to be yourself.”

Enigmatic, if not outright disjointed, and not well-served by these visuals. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: May 9, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-101-93973-4

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Golden Books/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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TWO LITTLE TRAINS
by Margaret Wise Brown ; illustrated by Greg Pizzoli

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A HOME IN THE BARN
by Margaret Wise Brown ; illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

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GOOD DAY, GOOD NIGHT
by Margaret Wise Brown ; illustrated by Loren Long

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JUST BECAUSE

by Matthew McConaughey illustrated by Renée Kurilla ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 12, 2023

Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes.

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Oscar winner McConaughey offers intriguing life observations.

The series of pithy, wry comments, each starting with the phrase “Just because,” makes clear that each of us is a mass of contradictions: “Just because we’re friends, / doesn’t mean you can’t burn me. / Just because I’m stubborn, / doesn’t mean that you can’t turn me.” Witty, digitally rendered vignettes portray youngsters diverse in terms of race and ability (occasionally with pets looking on) dealing with everything from friendship drama to a nerve-wracking footrace. “Just because I’m dirty, / doesn’t mean I can’t get clean” is paired with an image of a youngster taking a bath while another character (possibly an older sibling) sits nearby, smiling. “Just because you’re nice, / doesn’t mean you can’t get mean” depicts the older one berating the younger one for tracking mud into the house. The artwork effectively brings to life the succinct, rhyming text and will help readers make sense of it. Perhaps, after studying the illustrations and gaining further insight into the comments, kids will reread and reflect upon them further. The final page unites the characters from earlier pages with a reassuring message for readers: “Just because the sun has set, / doesn’t mean it will not rise. / Because every day is a gift, / each one a new surprise. BELIEVE IT.” As a follow-up, readers should be encouraged to make their own suggestions to complete the titular phrase. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023

ISBN: 9780593622032

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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CLAYMATES

by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Lauren Eldridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2017

The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...

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Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.

A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.

The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)