Stories glorifying mothers abound; this well-intentioned but rather bland one does not distinguish itself.
An imaginative, ponytailed girl compares what she learns at school to what she believes her mother learned at Mom School.
“When I go to school, I learn how to cut and glue paper, count to 100, and sing silly songs. My mom says she went to school, too.” So begins this title, in which the young narrator shares what she thinks happens at a school for mothers. The page turn reveals a group of ethnically diverse, backpack-toting women, many with coffee mugs, heading into a multistory brick school. There, the students learn how to juggle various tasks, such as shopping for groceries while not losing sight of the kids, talking on the phone while fixing a daughter’s hair, and making dinner while listening to a child’s new song. Other lessons include how to properly tuck a child into bed, read stories, bait a fishhook, and pump a bicycle tire; all are betrayed with gentle comic effect in Burris’ digitally painted illustrations. Readers will be pleased to recognize such activities as building a fort out of couch cushions and decorating cupcakes, but these kidcentric lessons follow a pretty drawn-out exploration of a single joke. The conclusion replicates that found in many other books: “she says her favorite job, her best job, her most important job is…being my mom.”
Stories glorifying mothers abound; this well-intentioned but rather bland one does not distinguish itself. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-38892-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An expertly crafted, soulful, and humorous work that tenderly explores identity, culture, and the bond between father and...
Thunder Boy Smith Jr. hates his name.
The Native American boy is named after his father, whose nickname is Big Thunder. Thunder Boy Jr. says his nickname, Little Thunder, makes him "sound like a burp or a fart." Little Thunder loves his dad, but he longs for a name that celebrates something special about him alone. He muses, “I love playing in the dirt, so maybe my name should be Mud in His Ears.…I love powwow dancing. I’m a grass dancer. So maybe my name should be Drums, Drums, and More Drums!” Little Thunder wonders how he can express these feelings to his towering father. However, he need not worry. Big Thunder knows that the time has come for his son to receive a new name, one as vibrant as his blossoming personality. Morales’ animated mixed-media illustrations, reminiscent of her Pura Belpré Award–winning work in Niño Wrestles the World (2013), masterfully use color and perspective to help readers see the world from Little Thunder’s point of view. His admiration of his dad is manifest in depictions of Big Thunder as a gentle giant of a man. The otherwise-muted palette bursts with color as Thunder Boy Jr. proudly enumerates the unique qualities and experiences that could inspire his new name.
An expertly crafted, soulful, and humorous work that tenderly explores identity, culture, and the bond between father and son. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-01372-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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