A winning reminder that though family might evolve, it’s always anchored by love.
Jillian likes her new stepfather but isn’t sure about her new grandmother.
Bubbe, Yiddish for grandmother, is very loving, but Jillian does not appreciate this affection. She already has two grandmas—Gram and Noni—and a great-grandma. She doesn’t need a person who gives lipstick-laden kisses and introduces new holidays and words (kvelling and kvetching) she doesn’t understand. When her mom insists that Jillian “give Bubbe a chance,” Jillian, tan-skinned with brown hair, reluctantly agrees to join her “brand-new” grandmother as Bubbe prepares soup and teaches Jillian to make perfect matzah balls. After tasting the delicious concoction, Jillian plans a celebration for everyone: her mother, her stepfather, her father, and all her grandmothers (and her great-grandma). The three grandmas make their special soups and create a feast for everyone—a lovely way to bring a blended family together. Humorous, expressive illustrations track Jillian’s many moods; the interactions between Bubbe’s dog and her cat are especially funny. Filled with good tastes and intentions, the story will ring true where families have stayed friendly after divorce and remarriage. Jillian’s family is a diverse one—Bubbe is Jewish, and the family members range in skin tone. Backmatter includes recipes for all three grannies’ soups (Bubbe’s matzah ball soup, Noni’s Italian wedding soup, and Gram’s gazpacho). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A winning reminder that though family might evolve, it’s always anchored by love. (websites related to blended families) (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-62354-249-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
A tongue-in-cheek bildungsroman about celebrating differences and the underrated superpowers of gentleness and sweetness.
Kaijus—giant Godzilla-like creatures—are supposed to have fearsome powers like atomic breath, the ability to summon storms, and magnetism—but not young Anzu.
Instead, he was born with the power of finding “beauty in small things.” Finally old enough to be assigned his own personal city to terrorize, Anzu hopes to impress his fond parents. But instead of inflicting fiery destruction on the tiny kodamalike residents at his feet, the best he can do is rain garlands of flowers down on them. He tries to wreak havoc by uprooting a tree but instead ends up creating a peaceful playground of blossoming animal topiaries. “I’ll never strike fear,” Anzu frets. “Am I even a kaiju?” Young readers may well share his doubts since, despite towering over the city of lumpy buildings made from low mounds of dirt, he and his family look more like cute, plump stuffies than scary reptilian beasts. When Anzu does at last manage a little devastation, his feeling of triumph is short-lived—and so, to restore joy and laughter, he exerts his special flower powers with surprising, and satisfying, results. The text is engaging and heartwarming without being cloying. The bright, colorful illustrations are rendered in watercolor and ink. Full-bleed artwork is interspersed with panels, which, along with the use of narrative boxes, lend a graphic feel to the presentation.
A tongue-in-cheek bildungsroman about celebrating differences and the underrated superpowers of gentleness and sweetness. (Graphic picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Jan. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-77612-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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