A thoughtful reflection on belonging that celebrates diverse minds and bodies in our interconnected world.
Nature thrives on diversity, and so do we.
When a class of students venture into a forest for a field trip, light-skinned Joy’s initial enthusiasm turns to anxiety. How will she choose just one thing to focus on for the class art project? But she soon realizes that her classmates’ unique perspectives are collectively creating a fuller understanding and appreciation of nature. The class includes children of various skin tones and abilities, mirroring the natural diversity they discover in the forest. As she did in More Than Words (2023), the author helps readers see that differences are gifts. As Joy and her classmates examine various aspects of the forest, from flowers and fungi to towering trees, parallels emerge between ecological interdependence and human physio- and neurodiversity. Accompanied by visually enticing, evocative mixed-media illustrations, the narrative weaves between concrete observations and abstract concepts, offering numerous entry points for young readers to consider how differences strengthen both natural and human communities. Rich scientific information on the endpapers and throughout provides additional context that invites deeper exploration, though the wealth of content and concepts occasionally prioritizes messaging over storytelling momentum. Enlightening backmatter includes explanations about neurodiversity and the author’s personal connection to disability advocacy.
A thoughtful reflection on belonging that celebrates diverse minds and bodies in our interconnected world. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781250864512
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As insubstantial as hot air.
A diverse cast of children first makes a fleet of hot air balloons and then takes to the sky in them.
Lifestyle maven Gaines uses this activity as a platform to celebrate diversity in learning and working styles. Some people like to work together; others prefer a solo process. Some take pains to plan extensively; others know exactly what they want and jump right in. Some apply science; others demonstrate artistic prowess. But “see how beautiful it can be when / our differences share the same sky?” Double-page spreads leading up to this moment of liftoff are laid out such that rhyming abcb quatrains typically contain one or two opposing concepts: “Some of us are teachers / and share what we know. / But all of us are learners. / Together is how we grow!” In the accompanying illustration, a bespectacled, Asian-presenting child at a blackboard lectures the other children on “balloon safety.” Gaines’ text has the ring of sincerity, but the sentiment is hardly an original one, and her verse frequently sacrifices scansion for rhyme. Sometimes it abandons both: “We may not look / or work or think the same, / but we all have an / important part to play.” Swaney’s delicate, pastel-hued illustrations do little to expand on the text, but they are pretty. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.2-by-18.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 70.7% of actual size.)
As insubstantial as hot air. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4003-1423-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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