Grumpy yet lovable Pom Pom Panda will help readers understand that bad days can happen for no reason at all.
Pom Pom Panda is having a bad day, so his friends attempt to cheer him up.
Following Where Bear? (2014), Henn crosses the pond once again with her second picture book. As soon as he wakes up, young Pom Pom’s day goes wrong. His favorite blanket is missing. His breakfast is soggy. His hair will not behave! At the school playground, different friends invite Pom Pom to join their games. He refuses them, one by one, until he explodes in anger and scares his friends away. Pom Pom soon realizes the error of his ways. He quickly apologizes and is forgiven just as quickly. Henn effortlessly portrays Pom Pom’s grumpiness and frustration in her illustrations. Young readers will gleefully follow his expressions, his black-and-white face popping boldly against the pastel hues of his friends and his surroundings. Preschoolers will empathize with Pom Pom’s bad day and his inability to articulate his feelings. While the book doesn’t approach how young children can handle these complex emotions, it offers a starting point for adults to discuss how to manage them.
Grumpy yet lovable Pom Pom Panda will help readers understand that bad days can happen for no reason at all. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-399-17159-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for...
Oliver, of first-day-of-school alligator fame, is back, imagining adventures and still struggling to find balance between introversion and extroversion.
“When Oliver found his egg…” on the playground, mint-green backgrounds signifying Oliver’s flight into fancy slowly grow larger until they take up entire spreads; Oliver’s creature, white and dinosaurlike with orange polka dots, grows larger with them. Their adventures include sharing treats, sailing the seas and going into outer space. A classmate’s yell brings him back to reality, where readers see him sitting on top of a rock. Even considering Schmid’s scribbly style, readers can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he ponders the girl and whether or not to give up his solitary play. “But when Oliver found his rock… // Oliver imagined many adventures // with all his friends!” This last is on a double gatefold that opens to show the children enjoying the creature’s slippery curves. A final wordless spread depicts all the children sitting on rocks, expressions gleeful, wondering, waiting, hopeful. The illustrations, done in pastel pencil and digital color, again make masterful use of white space and page turns, although this tale is not nearly as funny or tongue-in-cheek as Oliver and His Alligator (2013), nor is its message as clear and immediately accessible to children.
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for all children but sadly isn’t. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7573-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
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