Well-intentioned but visually bland and textually inconsistent.
From guide dogs to therapy pigs, Everett introduces a small menagerie of service, therapy, and support animals.
In two sentences per page, the author describes such helpers as CAT, who snuggles with hospital patients; DOG, who helps blind and deaf people “to cross the road, get on the bus, and stay safe”; and DOG’S FRIEND, another dog who detects low blood sugar. Readers also meet lesser-known helpers such as SNAKE, who detects impending seizures, and MONKEY, who assists people who are paralyzed. With thick, rounded lines and large, simple figures, facing pages show each animal assisting or comforting a smiling human in a minimal, stylized setting. The humans’ complexions range from light to dark; their nearly identical smiles give their button-eyed faces an unfortunate, doll-like blankness. The author’s encouragement to “keep an eye out for opportunities to be a little helper yourself to someone in need!” does not include the common etiquette of asking permission before providing assistance. Awkwardly splitting different types of service dog into DOGS and OTHER DOGS, a glossary explains the featured critters’ tasks in more detail. These explanations are somewhat more complex than the primary text, rendering them inaccessible to younger readers—and although older children may appreciate the glossary, they may find the main text and illustrations too simplistic to hold their interest until then.
Well-intentioned but visually bland and textually inconsistent. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 8, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-87955-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40.
From two Nobel Peace Prize winners, an invitation to look past sadness and loneliness to the joy that surrounds us.
Bobbing in the wake of 2016’s heavyweight Book of Joy (2016), this brief but buoyant address to young readers offers an earnest insight: “If you just focus on the thing that is making / you sad, then the sadness is all you see. / But if you look around, you will / see that joy is everywhere.” López expands the simply delivered proposal in fresh and lyrical ways—beginning with paired scenes of the authors as solitary children growing up in very different circumstances on (as they put it) “opposite sides of the world,” then meeting as young friends bonded by streams of rainbow bunting and going on to share their exuberantly hued joy with a group of dancers diverse in terms of age, race, culture, and locale while urging readers to do the same. Though on the whole this comes off as a bit bland (the banter and hilarity that characterized the authors’ recorded interchanges are absent here) and their advice just to look away from the sad things may seem facile in view of what too many children are inescapably faced with, still, it’s hard to imagine anyone in the world more qualified to deliver such a message than these two. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48423-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
Engaging, well-chosen images and a clear, coherent text illuminate the importance of empathy for the world’s inhabitants.
Large color photographs (occasionally composed of montages) and accessible, simple text highlight global similarities and differences, always focusing on our universal connections.
While child readers may not recognize Manzano, the Puerto Rican actress who played Maria on Sesame Street, adults will recognize her as a trusted diverse voice. In her endnote, she explains her desire to “encourage lively conversations about shared experiences.” Starting out with the familiar, home and community, the text begins with “How many WONDERFUL PEOPLE do you know?” Then it moves out to the world: “Did you know there are about 8 BILLION PEOPLE on the planet?” The photo essay features the usual concrete similarities and differences found in many books of this type, such as housing (a Mongolian yurt opposite a Hong Kong apartment building overlooking a basketball court), food (dumplings, pizza, cotton candy, a churro, etc.), and school. Manzano also makes sure to point out likenesses in emotions, as shown in a montage of photos from countries including China, Spain, Kashmir (Pakistan/India), and the United States. At the end, a world map and thumbnail images show the locations of all photos, revealing a preponderance of examples from the U.S. and a slight underrepresentation for Africa and South America.
Engaging, well-chosen images and a clear, coherent text illuminate the importance of empathy for the world’s inhabitants. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4263-3738-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
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