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I CAN BE ALL THREE

An insightful, imaginative story about embracing our full selves.

A child celebrates their multifaceted identity and heritage.

At school, with Multicultural Day looming, the unnamed narrator’s teacher asks the class to create a project that celebrates their cultures. The other students immediately identify objects that represent a single country or tradition. But the narrator identifies with three different countries: India, where Papa is from; Germany, where Mama is from, and America, where the family lives now. While at first this collection of identities feels confusing, a German, Indian, and American dessert combination sparks the epiphany the protagonist needs to realize that their story’s complexity is exactly what makes it beautiful. The next day, when the child shares their assignment with their classmates, they are delighted to learn that they are not the only student with a complicated heritage—or the only one who understands how rich a multiracial, multiethnic life can be. This richly illustrated, poetically told story builds upon the tradition of books like Natasha Wing and Robert Casilla’s Jalapeño Bagels (1996) and Malathi Michelle Iyengar and Jennifer Wanardi’s Romina’s Rangoli (2007) with one important addition: It honors the child’s American heritage alongside their parents’ immigrant status. The relatable narratorial voice and lively, momentum-packed pictures combine for a fast-paced story starring a protagonist who finds a creative solution to their problem. This child-centered story eschews pontification in favor of quirky, thought-provoking fun. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An insightful, imaginative story about embracing our full selves. (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: June 20, 2023

ISBN: 9781665901840

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

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

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