A lighthearted hero’s journey.
In this tongue-in-cheek tale, a band of children travel from one house to another, crossing a playground on their supposedly treacherous trek.
Before any characters appear, a scroll-like document begins: “On 20th August, a group of young explorers was charged with a dangerous mission. They were to travel across wild country to deliver a valuable parcel.” The document notes that two heroes would be recognized by the end of the journey. Every page uses similarly dramatic language as narration, and every page’s humor lies in how the artwork—delightful sketches rendered in ink and watercolor—subverts the text. An ordinary-looking parent in a bathrobe handing a beribboned box to a young boy named Robert is in fact the “senior officer” who sends him on the mission. Team leader Robert’s exploring party loses members along the way: Biologist Henry succumbs to an insect bite; botanist Ivy is “ambushed” by another “senior officer,” who shows up, glaring, with Ivy’s ballet slippers; Lily the animal handler and Floyd the dog leave when Floyd gets distracted by a thrown stick. When only two explorers remain, navigator Will tumbles to the ground in the “sandy desert”—a sandbox, of course—and Robert lets him ride on his back until they reach their destination, where more revelation awaits. Children will appreciate this absorbing adventure, which honors the power of imagination as it tickles the funny bone. Most characters are light-skinned; Henry is brown-skinned.
A lighthearted hero’s journey. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9781772783216
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Pajama Press
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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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