by Maryann Cocca-Leffler ; illustrated by Maryann Cocca-Leffler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2013
Doesn’t it make Mood Monday sound like a good idea? (Picture book. 4-7)
“It was Mood Monday and Theo was the first to share his mood news. ‘Are you in a good mood or a bad mood?’ asked Miss Cady. ‘I don’t know,’ said Theo.” So begins the complicated task of naming Theo’s mood after he’s just met his new baby sister.
Miss Cady’s classroom begins to explore all types of feelings that Theo might be having about being a big brother. Each child takes a turn giving clear examples of many emotions. “Maybe you feel AFRAID like me,” says Ameen. “I got lost in the mall.” Both the text and the bright, expressive illustrations focus squarely on Theo and his friends, with a developmentally appropriate, low priority on the baby. When it is Theo’s turn to speak, he states that he is HAPPY. But he is also jealous and mad and even sad. Cocca-Leffler once again demonstrates her understanding of small children and the complexities of their emotions. Her illustrations depict a convincingly ethnically mixed classroom, with children holding vocabulary-word placards; torn-paper frames against chalkboard-black backgrounds depict their imagined scenarios. “How can you feel all those feelings at the same time?” ask Theo’s classmates. “Because,” he replies, “I FEEL LIKE A BIG BROTHER!” That truly honest conclusion will resonate with older siblings while portraying classmates and teachers as a source of comfort during this transitional time.
Doesn’t it make Mood Monday sound like a good idea? (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7778-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Chloe Dominique ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
Pleasant enough but not particularly original.
Uplifting messages of positivity from the Today show anchor.
Hope springs eternal, so the saying goes. Kotb agrees, here delivering to children the cheery news that hope lives inside all of them and that whatever they might wish for can be theirs. All they need is a sunny outlook, and the possibilities for happy outcomes are virtually endless. Children’s dreams can be in-the-moment ones—like purple ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry—or more far-ranging ones, such as growing tall enough to reach that high shelf easily or for hair that’s long enough to braid. It doesn’t matter, the author reassures young readers. Your aspirations will be realized, so don’t give up on them—just keep believing in them and, most of all, in yourself. Throughout, Kotb calls hope a rainbow, a feeling, a gift, and a wish. Hope is “new friends you’ll find— / friends who are loving and funny and kind.” Hope is “practicing your heart out, letter by letter.” The book’s overarching theme is upbeat, but its bouncy rhyming text is clumsy. The child-appealing illustrations are colorful and lively, though they have a generic look. The cast of wide-eyed characters is racially diverse; some have visible disabilities.
Pleasant enough but not particularly original. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624128
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
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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...
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)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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