Larnel gets to know newly widowed Mrs. Katz when he goes along with his mother to pay a comforting visit; next day, he goes back with a tailless kitten ("Tush") that she agrees to accept "if you'll come and help me with her." So begins a touching friendship between the lonely old immigrant and the young African-American. "Such a person," Mrs. Katz calls him- -her highest praise; they exchange feelings about being excluded from some places, and when he volunteers to share Passover (her first without Mr. Katz) she explains that it's a celebration of freedom: "Like your people, my people were slaves." Tush has kittens—"at last I am a bubee!" Much later, Larnel's babies also think of Mrs. Katz as their grandmother: on the last page, there is a kaddish and a headstone inscription: "Mrs. Katz, Our Bubee...Such a Person." A book full of vibrantly idiosyncratic details; in the energetic illustrations, Polacco combines decorative patterns and lively action with her usual panache. Truly affectionate and heartwarming. (Picture book. 4-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-553-08122-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
An awesome-tastic invitation to have or share thoughts about bad and better choices.
Actor Tatum’s effervescent heroine steals a friend’s toy and then lies about it.
Thrilled about an upcoming play date with new classmate Wyatt, Sparkella considers her own sparkly stuffies, games, and accessories and silently decides that he’d be more interested in her friend Tam’s remote-controlled minicar. While she and Tam are playing together, Sparkella takes the car when Tam isn’t looking. Tam melts down at school the next day, and Sparkella, seeing her “bestest friend” losing her sparkle, feels “icky, oogy, and blech.” And when Wyatt comes over, he turns out to be far more entranced by glittery goods than some old car. When Sparkella yells at him—“WYATT, YOU HAVE TO PLAY WITH THIS CAR RIGHT NOW!”—her dad overhears and asks where the toy came from…and along with being a thief, Sparkella turns out to be the worst. Liar. Ever. She eventually confesses (her dad forgives her), apologizes (ditto Wyatt and even Tam), and goes on to take part in a three-way play date/sparklefest. Her absolution may come with unlikely ease, but it’s comfortingly reassuring, and her model single dad does lay down a solid parental foundation by allowing that everyone makes mistakes and stressing that she is “never going to be punished for telling the truth in this house.” He and Sparkella present White, a previous entry cued brown-skinned Tam as Asian, and Wyatt has brown skin in Barnes’ candy-hued pictures. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An awesome-tastic invitation to have or share thoughts about bad and better choices. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 30, 2023
ISBN: 9781250750778
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A smart, charmingly manipulative kid trying to get what she wants makes for a fun (and diverse!) story that both children...
Blogger Laditan (The Honest Toddler) makes her picture-book debut with the story of a little girl who argues for her dad’s spot in “the big bed.”
“I am a reasonable person. I don’t want to see anybody get their feelings hurt.” So begins the confident protagonist’s preface to her argument for “the big bed.” Inviting Daddy to take a seat in her small pink plastic chair, the protagonist—a brown-skinned girl with two coily poofs—first compliments her dad’s skills as a giver of piggyback rides and wrestling opponent. While this makes him a VIP (Very Important Piggyback-ride giver), the crux of her argument follows: “Who does Mommy belong to?” There are just two choices: to the assertive protagonist or to her father (clearly not to herself!). The accompanying illustration belies the protagonist’s previously calm demeanor, portraying her true feelings through her angry eyes (and eyebrows) glaring out at viewers from the bottom of the page. The illustrations augment the hilarity of the protagonist’s further arguments and suggestions about where Daddy should sleep instead. When the little girl tells Mommy her plan, she is met with laughter (which she interprets as encouragement), and the final illustration makes it clear both parents (who are also black) are amused.
A smart, charmingly manipulative kid trying to get what she wants makes for a fun (and diverse!) story that both children and adults can enjoy. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-374-30123-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
BLOG
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
