A child confronts feelings of exclusion and loss on Father’s Day.
Flora Gardener, depicted in the comic-style art as a child of color with tight, dark curls and light brown, freckled skin, has never met her father. Her imagined vision of him in an inmate’s uniform (deftly illustrated in line drawings that stand apart from the full-color art of the real world) later establishes that he’s incarcerated. When her class makes cards in anticipation of a Daddy Day picnic, Flora is bereft, but she notices that Jonas, or “Bork,” a white-appearing boy with blond hair, light skin, and blue eyes, seems sad, too. The teacher’s efforts to make her feel included (suggesting she make a card for an uncle or a grandfather and inviting her to sit on her blanket at the picnic) underscore how unfair such exclusive activities are. The story doesn’t reach full resolution and instead points readers toward an anticipated sequel, but it does depict Bork’s decision to make a card for President Barack Obama since his father is dead and “the president is sort of everybody’s dad” as well as the happy moment when Flora’s mother comes to the picnic. Her mother’s reticence about Flora’s father is perhaps the most poignant story element, and readers will hope she will share more about him in the sequel.
The beginning of a needed story. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: May 8, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9987999-6-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Penny Candy
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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