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A DAY SO GRAY

Name: A DAY SO GRAY
Author: Marie Lamba
ISBN: 978-1-328-69599-4

by Marie Lamba ; illustrated by Alea Marley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 29, 2019

Cozy up with this book to start a conversation about finding what’s bright when things seem dull.

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Two friends find a rainbow of colors hidden in everyday scenes on a snowy, cloudy day.

Two children look out a window at the snowy landscape while they put on their winter headgear. “This day is so gray,” says the white, blond child. “No, it isn’t!” says the brown, puffy-haired child. Outside, one child calls the field “blah brown”; the other points out “dots of orange, / and vines of black.” To one, the “snow is boring white”—the other finds in it “lines of purple, / and squiggles of gray.” When they go inside and remove their coats and boots, they cozy up to a warm fire that is not “just orange,” but “flashes of red and yellow.” The pessimist finally admits that the fire is cozy and warm, and so is the “bad luck” black cat, and the “brown, white, gray cocoa.” The thought-provoking and poetic text effectively celebrates balanced, helpful relationships and a positive, almost magical way of seeing and appreciating the world. While the illustrations, which place clean-lined, cartoon figures against, mostly, artfully smudgy backgrounds, fail to enhance the subtlety of the text, they do conjure feelings of cold and warm, with textured snow scenes and the fire’s glow surrounding the two children.

Cozy up with this book to start a conversation about finding what’s bright when things seem dull. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-328-69599-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion Books

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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WHY A DAUGHTER NEEDS A MOM

by Gregory R. Lange ; illustrated by Sydney Hanson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2019

New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.

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All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.

Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.

New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)

Pub Date: May 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)