A well-meaning but not fully successful picture book for those on the autistic spectrum.
An autistic boy views the world as being inhabited by brightly colored aliens, very different from his human self—until he sees a new girl who looks a lot like him.
Brief rhyming verse that often fails to scan accompanies the lively, exceptionally colorful illustrations of myriad differently shaped aliens (including the boy’s parents and brother) engaged in everyday activities. In addition to not looking like an alien, the boy is also socially isolated: “They eat their lunch together. / I eat my lunch alone.” The accompanying illustration shows him sitting by himself at a cafeteria table, but, strangely, there is an extra tray of food next to him. After he asks his tentacled, multieyed father about the new girl, his parent reassures him: “Dad tells me that some people see / the world through different eyes. / She is special just like I am, / which takes me by surprise.” They invite the girl over. The pair share space but don’t interact. Nonetheless, her presence is comforting. The concept that the boy and girl (who are both white) see themselves as different from everyone else is shown—although it’s a bit murky since each alien is also quite unique—but younger children on the autism spectrum might be inclined to take the images literally and not understand the deeper message.
A well-meaning but not fully successful picture book for those on the autistic spectrum. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63411-007-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thunderstone Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
Pedestrian.
Mr. Brown can’t help with farm chores because his shoes are missing—a common occurrence in his household and likely in many readers’ as well.
Children will be delighted that the titular Mr. Brown is in fact a child. After Mr. Brown looks in his closet and sorts through his other family members’ shoes with no luck, his father and his siblings help him search the farm. Eventually—after colorful pages that enable readers to spot footwear hiding—the family gives up on their hunt, and Mr. Brown asks to be carried around for the chores. He rides on his father’s shoulders as Papa gets his work done, as seen on a double-page spread of vignettes. The resolution is more of a lesson for the adult readers than for children, a saccharine moment where father and son express their joy that the missing shoes gave them the opportunity for togetherness—with advice for other parents to appreciate those fleeting moments themselves. Though the art is bright and cheerful, taking advantage of the setting, it occasionally is misaligned with the text (for example, the text states that Mr. Brown is wearing his favorite green shirt while the illustration is of a shirt with wide stripes of white and teal blue, which could confuse readers at the point where they’re trying to figure out which family member is Mr. Brown). The family is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Pedestrian. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5460-0389-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
Teachers looking for a new way to start off the school year will eat this one up.
In Murray’s children’s debut, when a gingerbread man made by schoolchildren gets left behind at recess, he decides he has to find his class: “I’ll run and I’ll run, / As fast as I can. / I can catch them! I’m their / Gingerbread Man!”
And so begins his rollicking rhyming adventure as he runs, limps, slides and skips his way through the school, guided on his way by the friendly teachers he meets. Flattened by a volleyball near the gym, he gets his broken toe fixed by the kindly nurse and then slides down the railing into the art teacher’s lunch. Then it’s off to the principal’s office, where he takes a spin in her chair before she arrives. “The children you mentioned just left you to cool. / They’re hanging these posters of you through the school.” The principal takes him back to the classroom, where the children all welcome him back. The book’s comic-book layout suits the elementary-school tour that this is, while Lowery’s cartoon artwork fits the folktale theme. Created with pencil, screen printing and digital color, the simple illustrations give preschoolers a taste of what school will be like. While the Gingerbread Man is wonderfully expressive, though, the rather cookie-cutter teachers could use a little more life.
Teachers looking for a new way to start off the school year will eat this one up. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25052-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
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