by Petrell Marie Özbay ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2015
A bright, lighthearted, and comforting book for children missing a faraway parent.
In this illustrated children’s book, a little girl going to sleep waits for her father’s kisses and hugs to arrive from far away.
As in many families, little Gabby Ann’s father works very far away much of the time, but she knows that every night he will send her hugs and kisses. Friendly looking letters sing, “We’re Xs and Os, sent for the night. / We’re kisses and hugs, to help Gabby sleep tight.” Of course, her mother kisses her goodnight, too, but Gabby misses her daddy. One night, she has trouble sleeping, wondering when her father’s hugs and kisses will arrive. Her mother tells her that “The sooner you sleep, the faster they’ll get here.” As Gabby tries to sleep, her father’s X’s and O’s go on a long journey: dancing on the wind, meeting kind animals all over the world, and getting rides from some, including a monkey, giraffe, dolphin, and pelican. When Gabby pops up from bed to ask her mother why daddy’s kisses and hugs are taking so long, she’s reminded to have patience. Sure enough, the X’s and O’s eventually catch a ride with the family dog, who delivers them to Gabby, and she sleeps tight, secure in her father’s love. In her debut book, Özbay tells a sweet and simple story that makes good use of repetition to engage youngsters. The animals in their varied habitats are reassuringly ready to help, and Motz’s colorful, animated illustrations of happy-looking creatures also provide appeal. It’s a bit puzzling, though, that the hugs and kisses are presented as something to help Gabby sleep but will only ever arrive after she’s already fallen asleep—a parental trick that children may or may not see through. Another minor quibble: emus are included with African animals; they’re from Australia.
A bright, lighthearted, and comforting book for children missing a faraway parent.Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-0990844709
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mascot Books
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Petrell Marie Özbay & Tess LaBella ; illustrated by Sonya Abby
by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2020
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart
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by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart
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by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart
by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
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