A sweet tribute to youthful creativity.
A child and a toy elephant enjoy a blissful day, fueled by imagination.
A bouncy pachyderm leaps into curly-haired Ella’s bed one morning. Ella dubs the newcomer Lavender, and they proceed to eat pancakes, clean up, and set out for the day. Though they’re both eager to play, Ella laments, “I need to stay tidy, as clean as can be. Mommy is hosting an afternoon tea.” So Lavender proposes “a leisurely stroll.” Despite the best of intentions, they both end up playing hide-and-seek among the trees, having a garden hose water battle, and making mud pies—which leaves them both a soggy mess. Mommy ultimately spots and gently chides them. After baths for both (Lavender, back to his toy form, is placed in the washing machine), it’s time for tea and, eventually, bed. Relying predominantly on shades of pink and purple and depicting her characters with cherubic features, Farb effectively evokes an idyllic suburban setting, from the well-ordered garden to the prim and proper tea party. Lavender changes shape regularly, emphasizing the creative power of make-believe; readers who don’t pay close attention to the title page (which depicts the elephant as a toy sitting on Ella’s windowsill) may be briefly confused by his transformations. Treading familiar territory, Peugh makes use of upbeat rhyming text that pairs well with the artwork. Ella is tan-skinned and rosy-cheeked; Mommy is slightly lighter-skinned.
A sweet tribute to youthful creativity. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781962269230
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flashlight Press
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle...
Making things is difficult work. Readers will recognize the stages of this young heroine’s experience as she struggles to realize her vision.
First comes anticipation. The artist/engineer is spotted jauntily pulling a wagonload of junkyard treasures. Accompanied by her trusty canine companion, she begins drawing plans and building an assemblage. The narration has a breezy tone: “[S]he makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” The colorful caricatures and creations contrast with the digital black outlines on a white background that depict an urban neighborhood. Intermittent blue-gray panels break up the white expanses on selected pages showing sequential actions. When the first piece doesn’t turn out as desired, the protagonist tries again, hoping to achieve magnificence. A model of persistence, she tries many adjustments; the vocabulary alone offers constructive behaviors: she “tinkers,” “wrenches,” “fiddles,” “examines,” “stares” and “tweaks.” Such hard work, however, combines with disappointing results, eventually leading to frustration, anger and injury. Explosive emotions are followed by defeat, portrayed with a small font and scaled-down figures. When the dog, whose expressions have humorously mirrored his owner’s through each phase, retrieves his leash, the resulting stroll serves them well. A fresh perspective brings renewed enthusiasm and—spoiler alert—a most magnificent scooter sidecar for a loyal assistant.
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle characterization for maximum delight. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-55453-704-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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