Raising and nurturing tiny humans, regardless of gender, is a difficult task—this stands as a reminder that love should be...
A follow-up to Paris Rosenthal’s advice-filled work written in collaboration with her late mother, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Dear Girl, (2017).
Young gentlemen need guidance too, so Paris Rosenthal partners with her father this time to dispense words of wisdom to boys. Some of the advice is quite pedestrian: “Dear Boy, Always trust magic”; “Dear Boy, If you need one more reminder to pursue your dreams, then here it is: Pursue your dreams.” Some of it echoes Dear Girl,: “Find kids who are like you. / Find kids who are unlike you.” And some directly speaks to the heart: “Honesty is one thing / that will never lead you down the wrong road.” Touching on masculinity, consent (“Yes means yes. / Anything else means no”), encouragement, and kindness, the text offers nothing that is misguided, but it does seem to be missing a spark of surprise. A tiny bit of the unusual. (But, one supposes, since Amy Krause Rosenthal’s death, so is the world.) Parallel to Dear Girl,’s protagonist, Hatam creates a paper-white boy with round-dotted eyes to explore the various scenarios. Friends of other, varying shades are in the periphery and background.
Raising and nurturing tiny humans, regardless of gender, is a difficult task—this stands as a reminder that love should be always present. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 23, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-242251-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
The story’s slight but allows kids to practice identifying and dealing with their own big feelings.
The diverse group of kids from All Are Welcome (2018) this time gathers in a vacant lot with tools in hand to clear the debris and make something new. But therein lies the rub: What should the something new be? While the exact nature of the disagreement is unfortunately not made clear to readers, the big feelings that the children exhibit are very clear (and for readers who need practice reading facial clues, there’s a labeled chart of 15 in the frontmatter). This book’s refrain is “How can I help? / What can we do?” And the answers, spread over several pages and not spelled out in so many words but rather shown in the illustrations, are: talk it through, compromise, and see things from another perspective. As a guide for dealing with feelings and problem-solving, the book is a bit slim and lacks a solid story to hook readers. But, as with its predecessor, its strength is again the diversity on display in its pages. There’s a rainbow of skin tones and hair colors as well as abundant variation in hair texture, several children exhibit visible disabilities, including one child who uses a wheelchair, and there are markers of religious and cultural diversity. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 29.6% of actual size.)
The story’s slight but allows kids to practice identifying and dealing with their own big feelings. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-57974-8
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available.
A ghost learns to appreciate his differences.
The little ghost protagonist of this title is unusual. He’s a quilt, not a lightweight sheet like his parents and friends. He dislikes being different despite his mom’s reassurance that his ancestors also had unconventional appearances. Halloween makes the little ghost happy, though. He decides to watch trick-or-treaters by draping over a porch chair—but lands on a porch rail instead. A mom accompanying her daughter picks him up, wraps him around her chilly daughter, and brings him home with them! The family likes his looks and comforting warmth, and the little ghost immediately feels better about himself. As soon as he’s able to, he flies out through the chimney and muses happily that this adventure happened only due to his being a quilt. This odd but gently told story conveys the importance of self-respect and acceptance of one’s uniqueness. The delivery of this positive message has something of a heavy-handed feel and is rushed besides. It also isn’t entirely logical: The protagonist could have been a different type of covering; a blanket, for instance, might have enjoyed an identical experience. The soft, pleasing illustrations’ palette of tans, grays, white, black, some touches of color, and, occasionally, white text against black backgrounds suggest isolation, such as the ghost feels about himself. Most humans, including the trick-or-treating mom and daughter, have beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.2% of actual size.)
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6447-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
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