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MISS PINKELTINK'S PURSE

Name: MISS PINKELTINK'S PURSE
Author: Patty Brozo
ISBN: 978-0-88448-626-8

by Patty Brozo ; illustrated by Ana Ochoa ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 4, 2018

Simplistic but heartfelt, earnest, and a discussion starter.

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The concept of homelessness is brought down to the youngest child’s level.

It’s not until the third spread, after the newly arrived, plump, gray-haired woman has mowed a swath through town with her heavy bag, that readers get the first hint that Miss Pinkeltink may be homeless. She explains, “Sometimes it’s a blessing, sometimes it’s a curse, / but all that I have, I have in my purse.” Her heart’s in the right place; she searches her bag for bits and pieces to give to townspeople (though most are a little off, such as the comb she hands to a bald man). Finally the bag is empty save for the “pleasure her gifts could provide.” And then she beds down under a willow tree. Young Zoey sees her and enlists the townspeople to help. Seemingly the next day, the racially diverse people lead Miss Pinkeltink in a parade, gifting her various household goods just as she gifted them her small treasures, until they reach their destination: “Your purse needs a home.” The rhymes, the bright colors, the innocuous and eclectic items contained in the purse, and, most of all, Miss Pinkeltink’s sweet-old-lady demeanor and eccentric dress keep the tone of the book light and the protagonist from seeming pitiable. And though the solution may feel ludicrously easy to adult readers, this is a nonthreatening and simple introduction to the topic for young children who have no prior exposure to homelessness. No explanation is given for Miss Pinkeltink’s situation. Miss Pinkeltink is white, and Zoey has light brown skin and straight brown hair.

Simplistic but heartfelt, earnest, and a discussion starter. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Dec. 4, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-88448-626-8

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Tilbury House

Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BUDDY BENCH
by Patty Brozo ; illustrated by Mike Deas

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2015

Safe to creep on by.

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Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.

In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.

Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?
edited by Eric Carle

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BUG?
edited by Eric Carle

- BOOK REVIEW
MY FIRST I SEE YOU
by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle

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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)