A serviceable title on friendship.
Do friends always have to enjoy the same activities?
Hannah, white with long brown braids and dressed in a deep pink jumper, cheers with her sparkly pompoms. She loves to smile, and she keeps a unicorn in her bike basket. When Sunny Everbright moves in nearby, Hannah imagines a cheerful white blonde dressed in bright colors. To the contrary, Sunny has pale skin and messy black hair, jeans, and black sneakers. She answers “no” to Hannah’s excited questions: “Do you like riding bikes?…Finding butterflies?…Drawing unicorns?” When Hannah tries to “teach Sunny Everbright how to be happy” by saying “For drawing hearts, magenta is your go-to color,” Sunny draws a black spider. When Hannah shows her how to make daisy chains, Sunny finds a spider and a web. When Hannah coos, “If you need a smile, the strawberry is your go-to fruit,” Sunny plops in the mud. Suddenly, it begins to rain, and Sunny begins to enjoy herself. A very confused Hannah finds solace on her jeans-wearing mom’s lap as her mother wisely explains: “We all find happiness in different ways, Hannah.” The next morning, an invitation arrives to “play in the rain,” complete with a lizard twirling a pompom. Comical illustrations are colorful and movement-filled, combining sketching with digital programs; Sunny is likely to be read as either white or Asian. The text can be a little precious but succeeds in validating both girls’ preferences.
A serviceable title on friendship. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-232233-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Weathers heavy themes with breezy sensitivity…and unicorns!
Emotional storm clouds come between two unicorn friends.
Harking back to Not Quite Narwhal (2017) in both cast and tone, Sima offers a friendship tale in which Kelp’s close and aptly named pal Nimbus acquires a dark little cloud that rains when she feels down. The more she tries to ignore it or bottle it up, the bigger it gets…until it finally breaks out in a storm that sends her fleeing all company to huddle alone in a gloomy forest. There, she discovers that recognizing and getting to know the cloud actually makes it shrink—and just as she’s feeling a bit better, Kelp gallops into view, which sets the stage for a joyful reunion depicted in the sweet, softly hued illustrations with an exuberant rainbow swirl. Kelp, who turns out to be “a very good listener,” acknowledges the cloud matter-of-factly, and Nimbus comes to understand that though she may have up days and down days to come, weathering the latter with an accepting friend will make them easier. If some young readers subject to or familiar with similar storms (or a bit foggy on what a metaphor is) need explanation or discussion about depression to clear the air, the comforting message nonetheless shines brightly. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Weathers heavy themes with breezy sensitivity…and unicorns! (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781665916981
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
Inviting.
A story inspired by a real-life effort to achieve social inclusion.
Rhyming text enriched by energetic, cartoon-style illustrations follows the diverse students in Miss Mellon’s class at recess. Most of the children dive into play with peers, but some feel timid or excluded. Those at play are initially oblivious to the discomfort of the others, but then a child named Jake notices someone using a crutch and hanging back from play. “ ‘It’s my leg,’ said Gabe. ‘I can’t run in a cast, / so I never get picked, not even last.’ ” Affable Jake responds, “Come play with us anyway. There’s time to spare,” causing Gabe to reply, “Wait a minute …I’ll be right there.” This interaction creates a compassionate domino effect of inclusion, with Gabe reaching out to another kid on the sidelines, and so on. When the children (and, oddly, an elephant and dragon) go inside after recess they ask, “how could we say, / without using words, that we all want to play?” Miss Mellon says they need “a seat / to wait for a friend or a buddy to meet.” It’s unfortunate the solution—the eponymous buddy bench—originates with an adult rather than the compassionate children themselves, especially since the author’s note reveals that it was a first grader who proposed the first one in the United States, but the generosity on display is heartening.
Inviting. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-88448-697-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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