Shari’s experiences will help children learn how to listen to themselves.
Shari T. Fairy loves to share. Her joy comes from making others happy, but some of her friends are concerned that Shari is so busy sharing, she doesn’t notice that she isn’t being treated fairly in return.
Shari’s fairy-godmother friends ask: “Isn’t it unfair that no one else gives back as much?” And: “Does anyone say thank you?” And: “Would people still be your friend if you didn’t share?” Shari considers what they say and decides to try not sharing, just to see how it feels. Almost immediately, the smiling and happy fairy becomes lonely and sad. Worse, she begins to question her motives for sharing with others. Does she share just so people will like her? Shari takes some time to check in with herself, and she realizes that “something is wrong. Something feels off. Something feels all jammed up inside.” Here, Curato’s cotton-candy colors dim to gloomy purple. It takes a visit from some of Shari’s other fairy friends to remind her who she is and what she loves to do. This book will work well as a read-aloud for older children who will have experienced situations in which they question themselves and have begun to consider how their friends see them. Readers will enjoy Curato’s colorful group of fairies, who present in a number of shapes, sizes, colors, and genders. Shari herself has light-brown skin and puffy bubble-gum-pink hair. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 23.7% of actual size.)
Shari’s experiences will help children learn how to listen to themselves. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-22230-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Imprint
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes.
Oscar winner McConaughey offers intriguing life observations.
The series of pithy, wry comments, each starting with the phrase “Just because,” makes clear that each of us is a mass of contradictions: “Just because we’re friends, / doesn’t mean you can’t burn me. / Just because I’m stubborn, / doesn’t mean that you can’t turn me.” Witty, digitally rendered vignettes portray youngsters diverse in terms of race and ability (occasionally with pets looking on) dealing with everything from friendship drama to a nerve-wracking footrace. “Just because I’m dirty, / doesn’t mean I can’t get clean” is paired with an image of a youngster taking a bath while another character (possibly an older sibling) sits nearby, smiling. “Just because you’re nice, / doesn’t mean you can’t get mean” depicts the older one berating the younger one for tracking mud into the house. The artwork effectively brings to life the succinct, rhyming text and will help readers make sense of it. Perhaps, after studying the illustrations and gaining further insight into the comments, kids will reread and reflect upon them further. The final page unites the characters from earlier pages with a reassuring message for readers: “Just because the sun has set, / doesn’t mean it will not rise. / Because every day is a gift, / each one a new surprise. BELIEVE IT.” As a follow-up, readers should be encouraged to make their own suggestions to complete the titular phrase. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9780593622032
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
A much-needed reminder that kindness will always win out.
Teachers influence children profoundly.
From earliest childhood, Lila Greer, the youngest of five in a single-dad household, has been a worrier. Then the family moves. Entering second grade feels overwhelming: Nothing’s familiar, and she has no friends. But Ms. Kern, Lila’s new teacher, invites Lila to erase the chalkboard at recess and to articulate her fears. It helps that someone listens. Soon, classmates get into the act, and lonely Lila makes friends, emerges from her shell, and learns that “what ifs” have positive sides. Lila grows up, still fretting sometimes, and then becomes a new teacher who worries upon meeting her own students. But then she remembers the teacher who helped her overcome her fears and doubts years earlier. What was that marvelous, ineffable quality Ms. Kern possessed? Then Lila remembers: It was kindness! Harnessing that memory, Lila now welcomes her own “smiling young faces.” This is a sweet story that emphasizes good cheer, helpfulness, and the importance of feeling welcome and heard, no matter who you are: terrific messages, expressed in bouncy verses that scan well. The illustrations are colorfully lively. Readers will appreciate occasional displays of humorous and quirky typesetting creativity and will admire Lila’s poufy topknot, which resembles a huge ball of yarn. Lila is light-skinned, Ms. Kern is tan-skinned, and other characters are diverse.
A much-needed reminder that kindness will always win out. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781419769047
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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