Can one large Yes conquer a swarm of Nos?
In this allegory on positive thinking, a large orange creature called the Yes embarks on an arduous journey, only to be trailed by dark, nebulous creatures called Nos who attempt to hold him back by undermining his self-confidence at every turn. Playful, poetic text, full of onomatopoeia, describes the action—“The Nos were everywhere and everywhat in swarms and flocks and packs. They teemed and seethed. They picked and nipped and snipped and snicked.” Kitamura’s inventive ink-and-watercolor landscapes bring the abstract story to life by showing the wandering creature as he leaves the safety of his nest to traipse through a quiet desert, a golden field and a dark jungle. He finds a tall tree, struggles over a tricky bridge and hikes a rolling hill—followed by a cloud of Nos all the while. If the text is a trifle heavy-handed and somewhat fraught with meaning, it is also well-intentioned and accessible, and the metaphor is clear and easy to understand. A nice choice for counselors and others working with children to build social-emotional skills.
Comforting and full of encouragement, this may be just the selection for adults or children struggling with fear and self-doubt . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5449-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
Did you like this book?
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 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
Did you like this book?
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A must-have book about the power of one’s voice and the friendships that emerge when you are yourself.
GET IT
School-age children encounter and overcome feelings of difference from their peers in the latest picture book from Woodson.
This nonlinear story centers on Angelina, with big curly hair and brown skin, as she begins the school year with a class share-out of summer travels. Text and illustrations effectively work together to convey her feelings of otherness as she reflects on her own summer spent at home: “What good is this / when others were flying,” she ponders while leaning out her city window forlornly watching birds fly past to seemingly faraway places. López’s incorporation of a ruler for a door, table, and tree into the illustrations creatively extends the metaphor of measuring up to others. Three other children—Rigoberto, a recent immigrant from Venezuela; a presumably Korean girl with her “too strange” lunch of kimchi, meat, and rice; and a lonely white boy in what seems to be a suburb—experience more-direct teasing for their outsider status. A bright jewel-toned palette and clever details, including a literal reflection of a better future, reveal hope and pride in spite of the taunting. This reassuring, lyrical book feels like a big hug from a wise aunt as she imparts the wisdom of the world in order to calm trepidatious young children: One of these things is not like the other, and that is actually what makes all the difference.
A must-have book about the power of one’s voice and the friendships that emerge when you are yourself. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-399-24653-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
Did you like this book?
© Copyright 2021 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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.
