What’s not to like? (Picture book. 4-7)
A quest for friendship and confidence with crayons and a unicorn at the helm.
A lonely unicorn looks for friends but is rejected by fish, birds, and butterflies all in one morning! The unicorn’s splashing and peering and the butterflies’ fluttering make for fantastic read-aloud opportunities, and similar opportunities for action, sounds, and conversation are sprinkled throughout the story. The unicorn searches for friends on spreads with negative space as background, his rainbow mane popping against them in the line-and-color illustrations, which have an unschooled look. But his rainbow tail fades to a dusty gray as his confidence wanes. Enter a band of seven anthropomorphic crayons on a double-page spread that introduces their distinct personalities via speech-bubble exclamations. The speech bubbles with hand-lettered text, a gentle black italicized type for the narrative text, and the unsophisticated illustration style combine to invite readers into the unicorn’s world. The crayons and unicorn embark on joyous adventures, with continued chances to promote phonological awareness, vocabulary-building, and social-emotional learning. Despite the contributions of his newfound friends, the unicorn’s colors fade again, and he must draw strength from within to restore them. This reminder that friends do not solve all problems is a welcome complexity. The no-frills attitude of this book makes it ripe for entertainment or for deeper discussion.
What’s not to like? (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5107-4819-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient.
How do you make a new friend when an old one moves away?
Buddy (from Sorry, Grown-Ups, You Can’t Go to School, 2019, etc.) is feeling lonely. His best friend just moved across town. To make matters worse, there is a field trip coming up, and Buddy needs a bus partner. His sister, Lady, has some helpful advice for making a new pal: “You just need to find something you have in common.” Buddy loves the game Robo Chargers and karate. Surely there is someone else who does, too! Unfortunately, there isn’t. However, when a new student arrives (one day later) and asks everyone to call her Sunny instead of Alison, Buddy gets excited. No one uses his given name, either; they just call him Buddy. He secretly whispers his “real, official name” to Sunny at lunch—an indication that a true friendship is being formed. The rest of the story plods merrily along, all pieces falling exactly into place (she even likes Robo Chargers!), accompanied by Bowers’ digital art, a mix of spot art and full-bleed illustrations. Friendship-building can be an emotionally charged event in a child’s life—young readers will certainly see themselves in Buddy’s plight—but, alas, there is not much storytelling magic to be found. Buddy and his family are White, Sunny and Mr. Teacher are Black, and Buddy’s other classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-30709-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gently models kindness and respect—positive behavior that can be applied daily.
A group of young “dinosauruses” go out into the world on their own.
A fuchsia little Hugasaurus and her Pappysaur (both of whom resemble Triceratops) have never been apart before, but Hugasaurus happily heads off with lunchbox in hand and “wonder in her heart” to make new friends. The story has a first-day-of-school feeling, but Hugasaurus doesn’t end up in a formal school environment; rather, she finds herself on a playground with other little prehistoric creatures, though no teacher or adult seems to be around. At first, the new friends laugh and play. But Hugasaurus’ pals begin to squabble, and play comes to a halt. As she wonders what to do, a fuzzy platypus playmate asks some wise questions (“What…would your Pappy say to do? / What makes YOU feel better?”), and Hugasaurus decides to give everyone a hug—though she remembers to ask permission first. Slowly, good humor is restored and play begins anew with promises to be slow to anger and, in general, to help create a kinder world. Short rhyming verses occasionally use near rhyme but also include fun pairs like ripples and double-triples. Featuring cozy illustrations of brightly colored creatures, the tale sends a strong message about appropriate and inappropriate ways to resolve conflict, the final pages restating the lesson plainly in a refrain that could become a classroom motto. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Gently models kindness and respect—positive behavior that can be applied daily. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-82869-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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