by Paula Merlán ; illustrated by Gómez ; translated by Ben Dawlatly ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 22, 2019
Readers who pick this quirky book will uncover a sweet story of cooperation under all that snot.
A girl, her finger, and her nose work to find common ground in this peculiar picture book.
A funky Spanish import tells the tale of a finger that takes up residence in protagonist Sophie’s nose, with no plans to vacate any time soon. Her parents have warned her that chronic nose-picking will have dire consequences, but she just can’t resist, and eventually, her finger—named Tim—turns the nose into a cozy home. Sophie’s nose expands to accommodate the finger’s various activities until she realizes that her nose is in danger of reaching the ground. Her parents are present through her crisis but gently encourage her to figure out a solution on her own. Sophie and her finger practice creative problem-solving to ensure that everyone feels satisfied. Gómez’s bright and playful doodles prevent this story from straying too far into gross-out territory. A cutaway drawing of the plush and stylishly decorated interior of Sophie’s nose is simultaneously charming and disgusting. The texts in the Spanish and English editions differ noticeably, though the message of working collaboratively to overcome conflict shines through in both. Characters are all depicted as white.
Readers who pick this quirky book will uncover a sweet story of cooperation under all that snot. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-84-17123-78-9
Page Count: 44
Publisher: NubeOcho
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
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PERSPECTIVES
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...
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
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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings
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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Chloe Dominique ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
Pleasant enough but not particularly original.
Uplifting messages of positivity from the Today show anchor.
Hope springs eternal, so the saying goes. Kotb agrees, here delivering to children the cheery news that hope lives inside all of them and that whatever they might wish for can be theirs. All they need is a sunny outlook, and the possibilities for happy outcomes are virtually endless. Children’s dreams can be in-the-moment ones—like purple ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry—or more far-ranging ones, such as growing tall enough to reach that high shelf easily or for hair that’s long enough to braid. It doesn’t matter, the author reassures young readers. Your aspirations will be realized, so don’t give up on them—just keep believing in them and, most of all, in yourself. Throughout, Kotb calls hope a rainbow, a feeling, a gift, and a wish. Hope is “new friends you’ll find— / friends who are loving and funny and kind.” Hope is “practicing your heart out, letter by letter.” The book’s overarching theme is upbeat, but its bouncy rhyming text is clumsy. The child-appealing illustrations are colorful and lively, though they have a generic look. The cast of wide-eyed characters is racially diverse; some have visible disabilities.
Pleasant enough but not particularly original. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624128
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
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by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Suzie Mason
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