A nonjudgmental approach for gently teaching how to deal with life’s setbacks.
Laila is a planner—she has charts for everything.
As the story opens, she’s planning for her birthday party. What will she wear? What games will everyone play? When should the cake be served? Wait....Lightning! Clouds! Her birthday party is ruined!!! “A sparkly SUNSHINE celebration” was guaranteed for all! Before a meltdown takes control of everything, Mommy has some great ideas. Change doesn’t have to mean disaster. The indoor unicorn obstacle-course race is a success—until whoops—there goes the cake! A nervous tummy doesn’t have to mean the party’s over. Laila’s mom has her child take a few minutes of regroup-time with service dog Charlie. And guess what? The birthday kid realizes that unexpected surprises aren’t all bad. Unicorn ice cream cones, a jar full of colorful paper wishes, and a cutout smiling sun save the day. Cotterill’s Little Senses series, addressing anxiety and challenges faced by children with sensory processing disorder and/or on the autistic spectrum, is so upbeat and helpful that parents everywhere can employ these coping mechanisms with any child. The deceptively simple illustrations are dynamic and engaging all on their own—from the little details of Laila soothing herself by foot-petting Charlie to Laila’s look of triumph when she overcomes her disappointment. Laila and Mommy present Black, as does one of her two guests; the other presents White. On-point closing suggestions provided by a children’s mental health expert round out the positive experience. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
A nonjudgmental approach for gently teaching how to deal with life’s setbacks. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-55347-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
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
Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient.
How do you make a new friend when an old one moves away?
Buddy (from Sorry, Grown-Ups, You Can’t Go to School, 2019, etc.) is feeling lonely. His best friend just moved across town. To make matters worse, there is a field trip coming up, and Buddy needs a bus partner. His sister, Lady, has some helpful advice for making a new pal: “You just need to find something you have in common.” Buddy loves the game Robo Chargers and karate. Surely there is someone else who does, too! Unfortunately, there isn’t. However, when a new student arrives (one day later) and asks everyone to call her Sunny instead of Alison, Buddy gets excited. No one uses his given name, either; they just call him Buddy. He secretly whispers his “real, official name” to Sunny at lunch—an indication that a true friendship is being formed. The rest of the story plods merrily along, all pieces falling exactly into place (she even likes Robo Chargers!), accompanied by Bowers’ digital art, a mix of spot art and full-bleed illustrations. Friendship-building can be an emotionally charged event in a child’s life—young readers will certainly see themselves in Buddy’s plight—but, alas, there is not much storytelling magic to be found. Buddy and his family are White, Sunny and Mr. Teacher are Black, and Buddy’s other classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-30709-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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