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IT'S ONLY THE WIND

Name: IT'S ONLY THE WIND
Author: Mindy Dwyer
ISBN: 978-1-5132-6074-7

by Mindy Dwyer ; illustrated by Mindy Dwyer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 3, 2017

A tame and traditional choice for bedtime.

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As mother tries to coax them to sleep, two white children, presumably brother and sister, lie together in a shared bed, listening to the wind whipping around them and asking question after question about what they hear.

In response to the children’s quandaries, the unseen mother offers whimsical reasons for the wind’s powerful sounds. The pages alternate between the unsettled children tossing and turning in near darkness and colorful depictions of the children’s interpretations of the mother’s explanations. These spreads each include four words that correspond to the images. Sometimes the words rhyme or use alliteration (“away day”; “rocking rolling”), but there is no consistent pattern. The placement of most of the text on one spread and a sprinkle of words on the next could make this book useful for established readers to share aloud with beginners; however, the faint color and scriptlike display type unfortunately render some words hard to read. The illustrations succeed at conveying a sense of the wind blowing but do not stand out as particularly compelling. The children’s hair, clothing, and even their facial expressions are stiff in contrast to the movement of the wind. The overall effect is that the book feels somewhat dated. It concludes with a one-page list of facts about wind.

A tame and traditional choice for bedtime. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-5132-6074-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: WestWinds Press

Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
CHIA AND THE FOX MAN
adapted by Barbara J. Atwater & Ethan J. Atwater ; illustrated by Mindy Dwyer

- BOOK REVIEW
TREASURE
by Mindy Dwyer ; illustrated by Mindy Dwyer

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW RAVEN GOT HIS CROOKED NOSE
adapted by Barbara J. Atwater & Ethan J. Atwater ; illustrated by Mindy Dwyer

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

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...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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MANGO, ABUELA, AND ME

by Meg Medina ; illustrated by Angela Dominguez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 25, 2015

This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez,...

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Abuela is coming to stay with Mia and her parents. But how will they communicate if Mia speaks little Spanish and Abuela, little English? Could it be that a parrot named Mango is the solution?

The measured, evocative text describes how Mia’s español is not good enough to tell Abuela the things a grandmother should know. And Abuela’s English is too poquito to tell Mia all the stories a granddaughter wants to hear. Mia sets out to teach her Abuela English. A red feather Abuela has brought with her to remind her of a wild parrot that roosted in her mango trees back home gives Mia an idea. She and her mother buy a parrot they name Mango. And as Abuela and Mia teach Mango, and each other, to speak both Spanish and English, their “mouths [fill] with things to say.” The accompanying illustrations are charmingly executed in ink, gouache, and marker, “with a sprinkling of digital magic.” They depict a cheery urban neighborhood and a comfortable, small apartment. Readers from multigenerational immigrant families will recognize the all-too-familiar language barrier. They will also cheer for the warm and loving relationship between Abuela and Mia, which is evident in both text and illustrations even as the characters struggle to understand each other. A Spanish-language edition, Mango, Abuela, y yo, gracefully translated by Teresa Mlawer, publishes simultaneously.

This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez, an honoree. (Picture book. 4-7)