Rhyming verses and illustrations of hands working give readers the opportunity to guess what community jobs people do.
“Stop and go, these hands are waving. / Catch that guy! He’s misbehaving! / These hands help us keep the peace. / Hold yours up, it’s the… // police!” The richly colored and nicely textured illustrations show a hand holding a radio, a pointing index finger, hands writing a summons, and a hand holding a stop sign. From the commonplace to those that rarely appear in picture books, the other occupations include farmer, cook, scientist, potter, news reporter, mechanic, architect, referee, and physician. The final puzzle reveals the hands of teachers, a perfect segue to the final spread, which shows a classroom full of tots dressed as community helpers before an adult audience of the same. In both the pictures showing only hands and in the full-page reveals, people of all genders, ages, and ethnicities are displayed. Backmatter includes two double-page spreads describing each of the careers—what that job entails and the education/experience needed for it.
A great addition to libraries’ and teacher’s shelves for units on community helpers. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4677-5214-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING
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What can you do when things go wrong?
Two children contemplate different ways to calm themselves down in this straightforward introduction to breathing, relaxation, and mindfulness. The younger, White-presenting child follows suit when the older, brown-skinned child proposes imaginative calming techniques. They picture themselves as various animals (goldfish, elephants, dragons) and objects (pinwheels, dandelions, wind chimes, flowers), inhaling and exhaling, that make deep breathing and calming down concrete and easy to comprehend. Simplified, whimsical illustrations add a touch of humor and a wink to the 1970s while preventing the story from becoming cloying, as soft, gentle instructions help the characters (and listeners) to understand some of the mechanics behind how to intentionally breathe and decompress. While not necessarily something that children will pick up unless they are learning about practicing mindfulness, this informative title has charm and warmth and will give youngsters some ideas as to how to self-regulate and manage their feelings as they learn to be aware of their breathing. Endpapers feature a multiracial array of children’s faces expressing different emotions.
A soothing, logical, and playful introduction to mindfulness for young listeners. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77164-637-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING
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Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING
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