A welcome, if slightly uneven, addition to the growing canon of children’s books about emotional literacy.
This German import reminds children that feelings, as well as some physical impulses, are universal.
The illustrations, which appear screen-printed, depict individualized children of various ethnicities and racial presentations in different settings. Their varied skin tones are rendered in deeply saturated colors and include realistic shades, such as beige and brown, but also stylized ones, such as blue, orange, mossy green, and literal black. The verso of each spread begins with “Everybody,” the remainder of the text exploring various feelings and physical states of being. Everybody feels happiness, fear, ennui, loneliness, anger, and more. Everybody plays, eats, sleeps, “gets hurt sometimes,” and dreams. In one spread, readers observe that “everybody pees,” some while standing and some while sitting down, and the book doesn’t shy from depicting children relieving themselves in various positions. The spread about sorrow verges on reductive. It states: “Just remember that the sadness will pass and you will be happy again,” even if it’s not always that simple for children, or perhaps some adults in their lives, suffering from severe depression. That aside, the book is an inclusive and generous reminder to children that everyone experiences intense feelings, which may help some readers feel less isolated or even, in some cases, reduce their anxiety. Unfortunately, there’s a glaring grammar error toward the book’s close (“The thought of some treats can make some mouth’s water”).
A welcome, if slightly uneven, addition to the growing canon of children’s books about emotional literacy. (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-3-89955-855-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Gestalten
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
A lovely literary tribute that will inspire readers to want to know more.
One of America’s most elegant first ladies is introduced to a new generation of readers in this charming picture book.
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was many things: style icon, journalist, book editor, art lover, historian, and shrewd politician. Cardillo pays homage to all of the enigmatic first lady’s many facets by depicting her for young audiences as the Everygirl who happened to become a legend. The story opens with an image of Jackie not as a poised debutante but as a scrappy young equestrienne who is undaunted by the occasional spill from her horse. The courageous wind-swept girl with the dirt-smudged cheeks is eminently approachable, and as she matures into a beautiful woman, readers see that inner fortitude carry Jackie through the White House, unbelievable grief, and an inspiring journey of self-discovery. The author’s message is expertly aided by Denos’ stunning illustrations, which were created with pen, ink, pencil, and Photoshop and appear as if they came straight out of a sketchbook for Vogue. Whether Jackie is standing in front of the Eiffel Tower dazzled by the scenery or bowed in stately grief in her widow’s weeds, the story told in this book is that of a woman in love: with her husband, with the City of Light, with books, and with life. What an inspiring tale indeed.
A lovely literary tribute that will inspire readers to want to know more. (author’s note, illustrator’s note, timeline, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-248502-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Neither fish nor fowl…
Some readers might be familiar with birds that remove troublesome insects from large animals’ hides and maybe with wrasses and other animals that remove parasites from larger fish, but most will not have been exposed to the range of species and complexity of interactions that are described in this innocent-seeming picture book.
Each double-page spread consists of an introduction and brief paragraphs and illustrations arranged across the pages, Dorling Kindersley–style. The light-colored, humorous watercolor sketches of animals in their habitats have joke headings and speech balloons, and there are some funny sketches such as a hippo that gives a ride to a turtle and a heron. But the text of some of the spreads seems far too sophisticated for the age group for which the illustrations are apparently intended. A spread on bees and plants uses higher-level vocabulary—“Diligent pollinators” reads one heading—and kids reading this would certainly need an adult on hand to explain concepts and words. The approach seems problematic; nerdy kids with a real interest in interspecies interaction may find the illustrations too low-level to be engaging, and kids who enjoy the artwork may well not be able to understand the text. It almost feels like a high school chapter on symbiosis masquerading as a children’s picture book.
Neither fish nor fowl… .(Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-912006-48-9
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Scribblers/Sterling
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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