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THE BAKER BY THE SEA

Name: THE BAKER BY THE SEA
Author: Paula White
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2389-7

by Paula White ; illustrated by Paula White ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2022

A toasty warm, sentimental read.

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A love letter to a bygone era in coastal England.

White’s author’s note provides context for her tribute to a fishing community called Beach Village in Suffolk, England, recalling how villagers worked together to bring in and preserve the catch. Fans of Joanne Schwartz’s Town Is by the Sea (2017), illustrated by Sydney Smith, may find parallels with this title, though there’s less longing or melancholy here. Instead, the tone is one of pride in recalling a former way of life. By highlighting not the fishermen or the Scotch fisher-girls who preserved the catch but instead the titular baker, the author showcases the crucial contributions of other townspeople (all of whom appear to be light-skinned) who sustained those directly involved in fishing. White cleverly casts as narrator the baker’s son, who wants to become a fisherman since their work seems more adventurous and heroic. Over time, however, he realizes how important his father’s work is. This shift allows readers to reinterpret the title not as a reference to the father, but to the child and his new aspirations. Pencil-and-ink illustrations, rendered in a muted palette of blue, gray, white, and sepia, underscore the text’s nostalgic feel. Fittingly, given that the book appears to be set during the first half of the 20th century, the art seems to channel Virginia Lee Burton’s style, with repetitive patterning in landscapes and attention to detail in the material culture of the seaside setting. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A toasty warm, sentimental read. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-5362-2389-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Templar/Candlewick

Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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)

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)