CECELIA SAYS NO WHEN FRIENDSHIP AND BOUNDARIES COLLIDE

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CECELIA SAYS NO WHEN FRIENDSHIP AND BOUNDARIES COLLIDE

Name: CECELIA SAYS NO WHEN FRIENDSHIP AND BOUNDARIES COLLIDE
Author: Noreen Anne
ISBN: 9798990649811

WHEN FRIENDSHIP AND BOUNDARIES COLLIDE

by Noreen Anne ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2024

An approachable lesson about saying “no” for young readers.

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A spunky young girl finds courage in her mother’s words in Anne’s picture book.

With her black, curly hair in two cute puffs, 6-year-old Cecelia (who has tan skin) wears purple clothes and hairbows because purple is her mommy’s favorite color. To connect with her mother when mommy’s away at work, Cecelia draws pictures for her with purple crayons. Cecelia’s classmate Sammi Sylvester really loves Cecelia’s drawings. So, when Sammi asks to have them on Monday and Tuesday, Cecelia says yes. Saying yes on Wednesday gives her a bad feeling because her mommy will never see her expressions of love. When Cecelia gets home, she remembers her mom’s advice that “it’s okay to say no to a friend,” then tries it out on her stuffed animals, her pets, and even a drawing of Sammi. After practicing at home, Cecelia is finally able to tell Sammi no, she can’t have her purple airplane picture—but they can still be friends. The author / illustrator’s purple-dominated color scheme drives home Cecelia’s love for her mother, and Cecelia’s changing expressions are caught with nuance in the simple drawings. Cecelia’s personality also comes through in the dialogue, from her kindly innocence to her expressive consternation when humorously comparing Sammi to “a hungry octopus grabbing everything.” There could be a more pointed discussion of boundaries, but Cecelia administers a master class in the concept by example.

An approachable lesson about saying “no” for young readers.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2024

ISBN: 9798990649811

Page Count: 34

Publisher: Little Angels Book Club

Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2024

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
CECELIA TAKES FLIGHT FROM THE DRAWING BOARD TO THE SKY
by Noreen Anne ; illustrated by Nithini Wathsala

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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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A BIKE LIKE SERGIO'S

by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Noah Z. Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2016

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...

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Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.

This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)