Tender and reassuring and just right for bedtime.
Although she’s never before been away from home by herself, Amy bravely declares her intention of spending three nights at Grandma’s house.
She packs necessities, secretly adding “three best things.” Each day passes in a variety of enjoyable pursuits. She and Grandma examine an old toy cupboard, have a picnic in the park, bake a cake and plan a day at a fair when her mother comes. But each night, after falling asleep for a short time, Amy awakens feeling sad and homesick. Now it is time for those secret things. The first night, a striped mat from her bedroom magically flies her home to see that all is well, followed by a toy horse on the second night. But on the third night, after soaring through the sky on her toy bathtub boat, she finds the house empty. Frightened tears flow, but her mother has come a day early, and all is joyful. Pearce makes it all seem perfectly plausible. The tale is told in soft-spoken conversational tones whether describing day or night, reality or magic. Young readers will certainly identify with Amy’s concerns and applaud her ingenious and imaginative way of coping. Craig’s lovely pencil-and-watercolor illustrations match the tone beautifully with scenes of happy daytime activities and pajama-clad magical night journeys.
Tender and reassuring and just right for bedtime. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6314-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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