Using bright colors and brilliant prints, Freeman encourages young readers to be themselves. (Picture book. 3-6)
Princess Arabella learns that standing out is not necessarily a bad thing and that she can both stay true to herself and succeed as she starts her first day of school.
The young princess is excited to start school. She packs her golden pens and pencil sharpener, her books, and her “royal lunchbox” and is all set to have a marvelous day at her new school. But she doesn’t hear her parents encourage her to be good and to listen to her teacher, instead running pell-mell to school. When the beautiful princess, who has dark brown skin and round, black plaits, gets to her new classroom, she finds a diverse group of princesses practicing deportment and etiquette. Instead of balancing books on her head to “Walk with Grace,” Princess Arabella prefers to read the books. Rather than cutting ribbons, Princess Arabella prefers to cut paper-animal chains. In math class, Princess Arabella finds the problem (adding crowns) “silly” and laments, “I don’t like school anymore!” Happily, when the royal teacher (a black woman in a tweed suit) asks the princesses to bring their favorite animals to school, Princess Arabella is excited to come back and show off hers. Princess Arabella’s ebullience in this Belgian import is contagious, and readers will be delighted to learn that Princess Arabella and the Giant Cake will be out in the fall.
Using bright colors and brilliant prints, Freeman encourages young readers to be themselves. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 26, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-911115-65-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Cassava Republic Press
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their...
Ruby is an adventurous and happy child until the day she discovers a Worry.
Ruby barely sees the Worry—depicted as a blob of yellow with a frowny unibrow—at first, but as it hovers, the more she notices it and the larger it grows. The longer Ruby is affected by this Worry, the fewer colors appear on the page. Though she tries not to pay attention to the Worry, which no one else can see, ignoring it prevents her from enjoying the things that she once loved. Her constant anxiety about the Worry causes the bright yellow blob to crowd Ruby’s everyday life, which by this point is nearly all washes of gray and white. But at the playground, Ruby sees a boy sitting on a bench with a growing sky-blue Worry of his own. When she invites the boy to talk, his Worry begins to shrink—and when Ruby talks about her own Worry, it also grows smaller. By the book’s conclusion, Ruby learns to control her Worry by talking about what worries her, a priceless lesson for any child—or adult—conveyed in a beautifully child-friendly manner. Ruby presents black, with hair in cornrows and two big afro-puff pigtails, while the boy has pale skin and spiky black hair.
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their feelings (. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0237-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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