A heartwarming tale about the confidence that comes from staying true to yourself.
Garda’s picture book explores childhood identity through a pair of blue shoes.
When Mia’s friends notice that her favorite blue shoes clash with their pink ones, she’s quickly left out of a game of Pink Princesses. And although Mia is disappointed, she isn’t ready to trade her beloved shoes, or herself, for a place in the jungle gym, which they pretend is a castle. Her friend Kate is the strictest when it comes to the rules. She insists that there’s “no such thing as a Blue Princess,” suggesting that Mia should be a monster if she wants to join in. Mia instead plays by herself, sad to miss the fun, but determined to be herself. Thankfully, Mia’s grandmother steps in with reassurance and a pack of sparkly stickers, which Mia uses to transform her blue shoes into something dazzling. Soon, the friends who excluded her are captivated. Rosie invites Mia back to play with them, crowning her the “Queen of Sparkles.” Instead of holding a grudge, Mia shares her stickers with everyone so they can play together. Garda, whose background is in the beauty industry, delivers a clear and heartfelt message about belonging and being yourself. The story is an excellent tool for showing young readers the importance of doing your own thing, even when it doesn’t match others’ expectations. After all, as the book’s message goes, fitting in through conformity never feels as good as being accepted for who you’ve been all along.
A heartwarming tale about the confidence that comes from staying true to yourself.Pub Date: Dec. 18, 2024
ISBN: 9798992034103
Page Count: 24
Publisher: The Happy Blonde
Review Posted Online: March 18, 2026
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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