A sensitively told story of a child grappling with her family’s pregnancy loss.
A young girl copes with the loss of a baby sister who passes away in utero.
Raya’s mother is having a baby, and Raya can’t wait to meet her new little sister, Nura (Arabic for “beautiful light”). Although she loves her brother, Samir, Raya is excited at the idea of having a sister—she can’t wait for the two of them to play dress-up and watch cartoons together and to give her sister piggyback rides. Dreaming about the future, Raya delights in imagining her future sister’s love of chocolate ice cream and dolphins. Everything changes when her parents return home after a doctor’s appointment with the news that “Nura won’t be coming home.” The news plunges Raya into grief, and she wonders if her love for Nura is now “trapped inside” her heart. When Raya’s father gently counsels her to spread all her love, she realizes that she doesn’t have to mourn her sister all alone, and she opens up to her parents, her school counselor, and other children who have experienced loss. This tender, thoughtful story is a much-needed tool for discussing pregnancy loss with young children. The smudgy illustrations blur in and out of focus, perfectly reflecting the foggy confusion that Raya feels. Raya and her family are brown-skinned and cued as being of Arab descent; given the relative lack of stories about miscarriage that center characters of color, this is a needed and important title. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sensitively told story of a child grappling with her family’s pregnancy loss. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2023
ISBN: 9781665901567
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.
In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.
Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781250393975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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