A gentle look deep inside.
An attractive primer about the human microbiome.
The nature metaphor begins with the “river” flowing—one’s intestine. This river has tight “folds and turns,” but if it were stretched out “it would be ten times as tall as you are!” It feeds and supports the “garden in your belly.” Tiny, gleeful, googly-eyed microorganisms fill the page. But as one particularly astute microbe asks, “Where does your garden come from?” D’yans explains how humans collect new microbes with everything they touch or eat. The blobby, kaleidoscopic creatures with wide, inviting eyes appear sweet and safe. Then they settle in to become a garden, blooming and growing (and yes, even sleeping). D’yans stresses the importance of having a variety in one’s garden—the microbes all have different shapes and hues, swaying amid the intestinal river. The actual job of a microbe is tricky to explain: “Your garden microorganisms put out fires and take the garbage out. Sometimes they have adventures and strange encounters. / They can even influence your thoughts and feelings.” D’yans encourages healthy habits: exercise, fresh air, water, and healthy foods to keep one’s garden strong. If bad microbes take over, the river becomes polluted—sickly greens and purples bubble up in the illustrations, and the microbes turn darker with large teeth and pointed features. Further exploration into the microbiome is appended. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.875-by-21.25-inch double-page spreads viewed at 22.5% of actual size.)
A gentle look deep inside. (glossary, facts) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5415-7840-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Positive and healthy behaviors and practices clumsily mixed together with, ironically, seeming unawareness of the book’s...
Concepts such as “compassion,” “giving,” and “meditation” are introduced one letter at a time.
As with previous titles in Engel’s ABC for Me series, this book is printed on thick, sturdy pages that are filled with bright, cartoonish images of happy children with varied skin tones. A word connected (however tangentially) to the concept of mindfulness is introduced with brief, rhyming text on each page. The final pages present a definition of mindfulness and a few activities for practice. While the concepts are all positive notions that most people would agree are healthy for young children, problems with this book’s execution become immediately apparent with its cringeworthy appropriation of images from various cultures and spiritual traditions. Symbols such as dream catchers, Buddha statues, prayer flags, and culturally specific words such as “Namaste” and “Zen” are all used without providing any context on their origins or significance. The text also struggles, often forcing itself to fit the rhyme structure. “Pay attention to your energy. Is it high or very low? / Either way, just remember it will always flow.” Further, the book confuses mindfulness—the nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment—with other concepts and actions that, while well-intentioned, don’t necessarily have anything to do with mindfulness, such as “sleep” and “vegetables.”
Positive and healthy behaviors and practices clumsily mixed together with, ironically, seeming unawareness of the book’s overall effect. (Board book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63322-510-7
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Walter Foster Jr.
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
A lighthearted, goofy way to help children to own their feelings.
The many emotions one might feel.
A simply rendered face against a plain white background conveys so much. Beginning with the basics, Corchin draws a large, wide smile on a bright, yellow face (“Sometimes I feel happy”). With a flip of the page, that face turns blue, tears welling and dripping down (“Sometimes I feel sad”). Another page turn: The face is deep red, with downturned eyebrows and a shouting mouth (“Sometimes I feel angry and want to be bad”). Each face helps readers identify a possible emotion, but the intriguing twist in this exploration of emotional literacy is the variety included, such as guilt, pride, shame, awe, and disgust. There is even a portrayal of feeling “plaid,” or not quite having an accurate description for what’s going on inside. Corchin doesn’t shy away from delving deep; however, the text simply names the mood—young listeners will likely need to continue the conversations with their caregivers. Just what does “I might even judge you” mean? Happily, many activity suggestions and prompts are appended at the end. Caregivers and educators will delight: an expert tool for social-emotional learning and helping children to read nonverbal cues. Simultaneously publishing is I Feel…Different, and I Feel…Awesome follows close behind, on Nov. 6.
A lighthearted, goofy way to help children to own their feelings. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-1946-2
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
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