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BIG BEN

Name: BIG BEN
Author: Sarah Ellis
ISBN: 1-55041-679-0

by Sarah Ellis & illustrated by Kim LaFave ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2001

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It’s not easy to be darling and genuine, but this story from Ellis manages both without a hitch. It helps, too, that LaFave’s (We’ll All Go Sailing, not reviewed, etc.) artwork uses sweeping lines and bright colors on expansive fields of white to great effect. The story concerns the feelings of Ben, a preschooler whose older siblings have received report cards, and sensational ones at that. The cards get taped to the refrigerator and there is a general celebration to mark the good grades. Ben gets no report card: He’s too little. And as the day progresses, he seems to be getting littler by the minute. He can’t swim with the others, he can’t see out of the car window like the others, and he doesn’t want Chinese food or a bedtime story. He has, inevitably, a bellyache. All he wants is his blanket. But then his brother and sister come to his rescue. They fashion a report card for Ben: “ ‘Does it have subjects?’ says Ben. ‘Yes,’ says Robin. ‘Your subjects are: Feeding the Cat, Shoe Tying, Tooth Brushing, Whistling, and Making Us Laugh.’ ” Ben gets straight A’s, and the comments from his professors couldn’t be more laudable. Well, suddenly Ben is feeling pretty spry. Maybe he’ll just show his dad just how good he can tie his shoes, even though he ought to be in bed. The sweet after the sour: Perhaps Ben will have that leftover Chinese food as a midnight snack. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2001

ISBN: 1-55041-679-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2001

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
DODGER BOY
by Sarah Ellis

- BOOK REVIEW
BEN AND THE SCAREDY-DOG
by Sarah Ellis ; illustrated by Kim LaFave

- BOOK REVIEW
WAITING FOR SOPHIE
by Sarah Ellis ; illustrated by Carmen Mok

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IT'S BIG SISTER TIME!

From the My Time series

by Nandini Ahuja ; illustrated by Catalina Echeverri ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 23, 2021

A sweet debut that offers a tongue-in-cheek instruction manual for new big sisters.

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In social worker Ahuja’s picture book, a well-worn topic—the arrival of a new sibling—gets a multicultural twist.

As the book opens, its young dark-skinned protagonist resists the new baby. “Baby’s loud. Baby’s messy. Sometimes Baby really smells,” she narrates. She then decides that “baby doesn’t know the house rules yet” and proceeds to induct the new baby into the ways of the family. In these spreads, Echeverri’s playful illustrations subtly reinforce this interracial family as Black and South Asian: Mom wears a dupatta during family movie night, and Grandma and Grandpa make rice pudding with their granddaughter; like the protagonist, Dad is illustrated as dark brown, but his black hair is tightly curled while hers is straight; the new baby is painted light brown like Mom but has Dad’s hair texture. As is common in this genre of books, the protagonist grows to accept and love her new sibling, her rules moving from restrictive to playful and inclusive. “The last and most important rule is, no matter what, we stick together,” she explains. “Because… / we’re a team now.” This good-hearted title is one of two concurrent releases from Ahuja; It’s Big Brother Time! is the second, which is nearly identical but depicts the family as Black and East Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally with 6.5-by-13-inch double-page spreads viewed at 33.1% of actual size.)

A sweet debut that offers a tongue-in-cheek instruction manual for new big sisters. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: March 23, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-06-288438-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: HarperFestival

Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
RISE UP AND WRITE IT
by Nandini Ahuja ; illustrated by Anoosha Syed

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I LOVE MY DADDY

by Sebastien Braun & illustrated by Sebastien Braun ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2004

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Parent-child bonding has never looked cozier, as a huge brown Papa bear and a very small cub spend quality time together from dawn till dusk in a leafy forest. The cub takes the narrative lead: “My daddy wakes me. My daddy feeds me,” and so on, until after “My daddy cuddles me” the pair drowse to the simple declaration, “I love my daddy.” Braun depicts hazy-edged figures and settings in long brushstrokes of golden toned browns and yellows, on a bottom layer of cool, green, flower-strewn grass. In a companion volume, I Love My Mommy (ISBN: 0-06-054310-8), he uses a similar arc and some of the same lines, but includes more abstract observations—“My mommy works really hard,” “My mommy is always there for me”—and depicts a different animal pair on each spread. Both make perfect fare for an intimate shared reading, though parents may come away feeling a little pressured by the high expectations. (Picture book. 3-5)