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GOOD MORNING, CITY

Name: GOOD MORNING, CITY
Author: Pat Kiernan
ISBN: 978-0-374-30346-4

by Pat Kiernan ; illustrated by Pascal Campion ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 15, 2016

A fine addition to the waking-up shelf.

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What happens in the morning when children are asleep?

“It’s dark and quiet. The moon still glimmers in the sky.” The sun may not have risen, but people are already at work in this city. Bread is being kneaded, papers are being delivered, and a ferry is picking people up. Stylized illustrations with an animated feel combine with clear, straightforward text replete with urban sounds to describe morning dawning in the city. The book reveals the quiet mysteries of what happens before children are out and about as the day moves forward and people begin to go about their everyday lives. A racially diverse cast of characters, many of them women, deliver goods, guide traffic, jog, serve food, eat, collect garbage, drive buses and cars, and work construction as the sun gradually comes up and displaces the moon’s shadowy light, eventually waking a young girl and her brother, both white, who are ready to play. Their father makes breakfast, and the TV news lets them know: “It’s going to be a beautiful, sunny day.” Notable for its portrayal of women and men of different colors in both nontraditional and traditional occupations, this selection provides a direct, realistic depiction of a typical urban morning.

A fine addition to the waking-up shelf. (Picture book. 2-6)

Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-374-30346-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

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I AM A PEACEFUL GOLDFISH

by Shoshana Chaim ; illustrated by Lori Joy Smith ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 13, 2021

A soothing, logical, and playful introduction to mindfulness for young listeners.

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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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PIRATES DON'T TAKE BATHS

by John Segal and illustrated by John Segal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2011

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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)