A child frets about her mother leaving for the evening in this quirky, appealing tale. Arranged as a conversation between mother and child, the text addresses all the far-fetched fears a child can conjure. Rampaging pirates, lurking dragons, beguiling circus careers, a perilous giant, and even an impossibly enceinte feline are all put forth as valid reasons for the mother to stay home. After mother leaves with a reassuring hug, the child discovers all the fun having a sitter can entail. As the evening wanes, the young girl eagerly anticipates when her sitter will come again to play. The ingeniously arranged illustrations are the real lure here. A full-bleed, two-page spread focuses on each specific concern; the upper three-quarters of the spread feature the girl’s vivid imaginings: Mama decked out in her evening finery (including tiara) valiantly battling pirates, cavorting at the circus, etc. The lower quarter of the pages depicts the reality: the daughter in a pirate’s hat brandishing a wand, or playing circus with her stuffed animals. Dividing the fantasy from the reality is a swath of ribbon that runs across the spread, with the text printed onto the cloth. The gaily colored ribbons overlay the illustrations for an intriguing collage effect. After mother leaves, the spreads become more balanced, with the ribbons dividing the pages in half, as each portion reflects the reality of the mother’s night out and the child’s enjoyable time with her sitter. The final scene depicting the child nestled in bed with her mother, now returned safely home is all the reassurance a wary child could need. Imaginative and brimming with lively artwork, this is bound to captivate and soothe anxious readers. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2002
ISBN: 1-58234-790-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
The can’t-miss subject of this Step into Reading series entry—a unicorn with a magic horn who also longs for wings—trumps its text, which is dry even by easy-reader standards. A boy unicorn, whose horn has healing powers, reveals his wish to a butterfly in a castle garden, a bluebird in the forest and a snowy white swan in a pond. Falling asleep at the edge of the sea, the unicorn is visited by a winged white mare. He heals her broken wing and she flies away. After sadly invoking his wish once more, he sees his reflection: “He had big white wings!” He flies off after the mare, because he “wanted to say, ‘Thank you.’ ” Perfectly suiting this confection, Silin-Palmer’s pictures teem with the mass market–fueled iconography of what little girls are (ostensibly) made of: rainbows, flowers, twinkly stars and, of course, manes down to there. (Easy reader. 4-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-83117-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
