This rollicking fable will resonate with aficionados, dilettantes, and prodigies everywhere.
One-upmanship has never been so over-the-top.
How can Wally Wombat keep up with Wylie Wombat? Play the piano? Done that. Tap dance—while playing the piano? Done THAT. Twirling a ball on a furry snout—while tap dancing and playing the piano? DONE THAT! Ferociously sweating Wally Wombat has had “ENOUGH!” Wylie Wombat can do everything he can, and maybe even better. If Wally can’t be the best, he won’t play at all. So there. Wally quickly realizes that a quiet life in his burrow, while nice, isn’t what he wishes for most of all. Wylie offers up a truce and chocolate chip cookies on a picnic blanket—playing alone isn’t quite as much fun as having a friendly competitor. Wally and Wylie set up their dueling pianos. Soon the overachieving marsupials unicycle and flamethrow to stardom under the eucalyptus tree. They are the best—until they aren’t….Tep’s encouraging message about doing what you love despite not being the greatest of all time will spur children to explore life’s joys just for the pleasure it brings. (Regardless of cheeky parachuting wombats.) Pintonato’s vividly detailed illustrations comically highlight the myriad emotions clashing across put-upon Wally’s face. The unifying motif of the picnic blanket–patterned endpapers cleverly foreshadows the conflict resolution to come. The illustrator’s skillful use of negative space emphasizes the escalating mayhem to hilarious effect. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This rollicking fable will resonate with aficionados, dilettantes, and prodigies everywhere. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64896-180-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
A validating and comforting look at big emotions.
The first day of school overflows with feelings.
Children starting school experience conflicting emotions; the racially diverse youngsters in this book are no different. Throughout, they exhibit excitement, nervousness, fear, happiness, and anxiety. Sobel acknowledges these universal emotions, which stand out on the page in colorful capitals letters: “EMBARRASSED! / Oops! Paint in my hair!” “Hello HAPPY soaring by. / A joyful bird loves to fly.” Lively digital illustrations depict a variety of realistic school scenarios: a child having a meltdown after breaking a pencil and losing a folder; children excitedly playing at recess. The author makes clear that we all experience a range of feelings and that our emotions matter; she also acknowledges that feelings depend on circumstances. The illustrations provide jumping-off points for discussion, so grown-ups reading this book aloud should encourage youngsters to talk about how starting school—or navigating any new life experiences—made them feel and what events triggered the feelings. Helpful backmatter includes questions that adults can ask kids as they read. The author includes comforting, mindful messages: Breathe deeply when you’re upset, don’t be afraid to try new things, and “take time out” when angry. Perhaps most reassuring: “Feelings are not right or wrong. / They find a spot where they belong.”
A validating and comforting look at big emotions. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9780063265783
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Well-nigh Wondrous.
When a strange orb falls into their habitat, the Spider commandeers it, constructing “WonderVille” and selling tickets to long lines of curious insects.
The object (readers will recognize it as a yellow-green marble) invites considerable speculation. Is it a gumdrop, a comet, a chrysalis? The Spider, nixing the chatter, asserts that “whatever it is, it most certainly belongs to me,” insisting that the sphere has fallen into his web. He constructs a “Grand Exhibit” to showcase “the Wonder from the Sky.” As lines of visitors lengthen, admission increases from one leaf to two—then more—until visitors cease. The Spider presumes they’ve gone to invite prospective customers. That self-aggrandizing assumption is rendered moot by “the Unexpected Disaster. / A five-legged creature stole the Wonder and took it back to the sky.” (This deus ex machina is a child’s hand.) Time passes, WonderVille reverts to its previous state, and insects return. The Spider, ignored, experiences a nighttime epiphany as stars shine down. “They didn’t hide their light from anyone. Not even a selfish Spider.” Patiently, he spins webs, and “sure enough, more Wonders fell from the sky.” In graphite-gray spreads rife with delicate flora, colorful new “Wonders” (a thimble, pushpin, Lego, and more) captivate the neighborhood—free of charge. The Fans’ marvelous illustrations sparkle with nuance, from lofting dandelion seeds to the Spider’s dew-dropped web. The pro-community message is slightly undermined by the choice to portray a gendered, top-hatted, preponderantly male cast. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Well-nigh Wondrous. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5762-1
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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