A wonderful expression of love and welcome song of hope manifested in a book about counting kisses.
A dual-language counting book in Plains Cree “Y” dialect and English for the board-book crowd.
Starting at kiss No. 1 and counting to 10, smooches between children and their caregivers, or from one child to another, stir tenderness within and bring smiles to readers’ faces. Pictures that fill and spill off the edge of the versos invite readers and listeners into intimate family moments. Astute readers will notice a diverse set of families and individuals depicted in the photographs, including couples that are perhaps adoptive, biracial, or gay parents, and more than a few of the images appear to be of First Nations or Indigenous American children and their caretakers. Those hoping to see the Plains Cree language featured above the English will have to wait for any potential sequels. However, the Plains Cree “Y” dialect is printed in a sans-serif font, clearly distinguishing it from the English though nearly similar in pitch, and key words in English are printed in a similarly colored manner to its Plains Cree translation. Whether readers have brown skin or light skin, are mothers, fathers, or elders, this book—with its kisses and its concept of counting—is “as welcome as the light from the sun,” as Van Camp’s (Tlicho Dene) text aptly puts it.
A wonderful expression of love and welcome song of hope manifested in a book about counting kisses. (Plains Cree glossary) (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1621-3
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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