Summer’s really fun—so will winter be terrible?
“Swimming is my favorite thing,” opines the protagonist from a pool, wearing red trunks and puffy yellow water wings. From this overhead view, wavery lines indicate the water’s movement around swimmers and across the pool’s pale blue tiles. But time marches forward, and a sister will begin the taunting. “Summer’s going to end soon,” she announces with a superior air, alarming the protagonist with forecasts of short days, leafless trees, being “stuck on the sofa for days,” and such chilly temperatures that even ice cream won’t appeal. But when fall and winter arrive, they hold their own delights. Chilly air allows nestling in a parent’s long scarf. Being “stuck on the sofa” means the family snuggles together under a quilt. Rain brings bright red boots, a yellow umbrella, and a chance to stomp puddles. And who needs ice cream when there’s cocoa? It’s an interracial family, with a White-appearing dad and Asian-appearing mom; the narrator looks an awful lot like Dad while big sister looks like Mom. A paradox makes the premise flimsy: A child who can imagine far enough ahead to fear future seasons would probably already hold some memory about what last winter was like—and be less vulnerable to a sibling’s dire prediction. Ciraolo’s art is inconsistent, sometimes seasonally evocative, sometimes seeming slapdash, with an odd, expressionist vibe. The text on the closing spreads peters out into dullness.
There are many better chronicles of changing seasons. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1530-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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A rhyming celebration of imagination.
A child with brown skin offers gentle, artful ideas about what to do with autumn leaves. The picture book's idyllic setting seems Northeastern in nature, with deciduous trees shedding leaves, which the child scoops up. Could a leaf from a tree become a hat, a Halloween mask, a hammock, or something else entirely? "It could be a horn that blows, announcing that we're here. // A leafy parade to celebrate our favorite time of year." Rhyme rules the text but isn't forced in the least. Collaged leaves against painted illustrations encourage play and imagination. A nod to winter and spring make this a year-round read. Endpapers with realistic labeled images of leaves provide an injection of information in this otherwise dreamy musing. The backmatter includes instructions on collaging—a meaningful and fun activity that builds upon the text. While there's nothing groundbreaking here, there is opportunity for both learning and whimsy. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet, poetic ode to autumn. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-30659-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dinos that love to move and groove get children counting from one to 10—and perhaps moving to the beat.
Beginning with a solo bop by a female dino (she has eyelashes, doncha know), the dinosaur dance party begins. Each turn of the page adds another dino and a change in the dance genre: waltz, country line dancing, disco, limbo, square dancing, hip-hop, and swing. As the party would be incomplete without the moonwalk, the T. Rex does the honors…and once they are beyond their initial panic at his appearance, the onlookers cheer wildly. The repeated refrain on each spread allows for audience participation, though it doesn’t easily trip off the tongue: “They hear a swish. / What’s this? / One more? / One more dino on the floor.” Some of the prehistoric beasts are easily identifiable—pterodactyl, ankylosaurus, triceratops—but others will be known only to the dino-obsessed; none are identified, other than T-Rex. Packed spreads filled with psychedelically colored dinos sporting blocks of color, stripes, or polka dots (and infectious looks of joy) make identification even more difficult, to say nothing of counting them. Indeed, this fails as a counting primer: there are extra animals (and sometimes a grumpy T-Rex) in the backgrounds, and the next dino to join the party pokes its head into the frame on the page before. Besides all that, most kids won’t get the dance references.
It’s a bit hard to dance, or count, to this beat. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1598-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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