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YOU ARE PART OF THE WONDER

Name: YOU ARE PART OF THE WONDER
Author: Ruth Doyle
ISBN: 9781499814903

by Ruth Doyle ; illustrated by Britta Teckentrup ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 13, 2024

A lovely invitation to children to see themselves as part of the larger world around them.

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Children are encouraged to get outside and take it all in.

Nature is a wondrous thing, and children are integral components of it. This lyrical, rhyming picture book depicts racially diverse youngsters closely observing, interacting with, and marveling at nature and its various inhabitants. As Doyle directly addresses readers, she uses language delightfully, playfully employing pleasing consonant sounds. She also exhorts kids to experience the natural world for themselves—“Watch ants work and play.” “Taste berries warm and sweet.” “Feel the tickles of tadpoles / as the stream cools your feet.” The author also shares the comforting idea that nature can help children cast off their troubles (“Throw your cares to the wind / and whisper a wish”) or can offer inspirational musings: “The sky doesn’t care how you look, what you wear. / The wind whispers, ‘You’re perfect’ / and ruffles your hair.” What a warm, gentle, and vital message this U.K. import radiates as it tells kids to “fly!” and how wonderful for children to feel embraced by nature at all times, day and night, in all seasons, and in all kinds of weather. The verses scan well, and the illustrations are enchanting—soft and delicate and full of captivating natural colors.

A lovely invitation to children to see themselves as part of the larger world around them. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2024

ISBN: 9781499814903

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little Bee Books

Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
SONGS FOR OUR SONS
by Ruth Doyle ; illustrated by Ashling Lindsay

- BOOK REVIEW
DREAMS FOR OUR DAUGHTERS
by Ruth Doyle ; illustrated by Ashling Lindsay

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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A BIKE LIKE SERGIO'S

by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Noah Z. Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2016

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...

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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)