Fans of these sweet guinea pigs will smile at another one of life’s small victories. (Picture book. 5-8)
As a birthday dinner at a restaurant approaches, Felix puts his trust in his best friend, Fiona, to guide him past his food neophobia.
Every day, Felix brings the same sandwich to school for lunch: sprouts on buttered oat bread. It seems Fiona has a more robust appetite, chowing down on an enchilada with hot sauce. Throughout the day, Felix worries about Fiona’s upcoming half-birthday sleepover, specifically dinner out at a restaurant. He would much rather have Fiona’s mom’s macaroni and cheese. Fiona keeps mentioning different unusual restaurants, filling his mind with imagined plates of unpleasantness. His anxiety increases as fish with staring eyes and open mouths, liver-enriched sausage, and flaming hot pans appear in his thought bubbles. At the restaurant, Fiona considerately orders a dish she thinks Felix will like: snow peas. He envisions a pile of ice cubes. Without disapproval or exaggeration, Wells quietly addresses the common discomfort of selective eating disorder and eases Felix through the situation with kindness. His journey to the other side is cause for celebration. As with the other titles in this tender series, Wells illustrates how a young person facing a problem can be comforted with the balm of friendship.
Fans of these sweet guinea pigs will smile at another one of life’s small victories. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9548-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...
Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.
This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6649-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.
The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.
Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780063329560
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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