A comedic hit, especially for older siblings.
A 2-year-old acts like a typical toddler in this debut picture book that offers a humorous, motivational riff on the phrase “you only live once.”
The narrator, who delivers encouragement like a keynote speaker, begins with the title phrase, which is repeated throughout the tale. As the cheerful toddler—rosy-cheeked and wide-eyed in Arumba’s soft digital cartoons—wakes the dark-skinned father and lighter-skinned mother, the narrator urges: “Start each day by witnessing / the beauty of the sunrise.” Each moment of the day is given another aphorism, moving from only eating food you like at breakfast to trying new tastes at playtime—as a pet’s tail ends up on the toddler’s tongue. The advice is frequently paired with illustrations that belie the positive tone: Speaking one’s mind becomes shouting and throwing things; embracing art is shown as drawing on walls. Despite the misbehavior, the child, who wears a jumper but is never gendered in the text, is surrounded by love. Two-year-olds aren’t likely to recognize the humor in the contrasting text and art, but older readers—especially children with younger siblings—will feel they are in on the joke. Parents may be the most amused of all. Arumba’s art is cheerful throughout and supplies just as much storytelling as Costello’s accessible text. The naughty toddler faces no consequences here; instead, there’s a sense that this mischief, too, shall pass. The repeated title phrase may encourage even the youngest lap readers to chime in.
A comedic hit, especially for older siblings.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73-683950-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Canette Books
Review Posted Online: July 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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